Rigorous Evaluation to Generate Evidence | Workforce Innovation and Learning
Resources are scarcer than ever and workforce practitioners and policymakers need to know that policies and programs are achieving their intended impact.
We blend our diverse expertise in mixed-methods research to conduct rigorous evaluations that generate comprehensive and reliable findings. See how we are generating evidence to support practitioners and policymakers across the country.
Our Projects
Explorations in Data Innovations - Administrative Data and Research Analysis (ADRA) Project
The Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) within the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) works with other DOL agencies to conduct Administrative Data Research and Analysis (ADRA) studies. The studies are designed to build evidence on DOL programs and policies and to inform agency priorities by examining administrative data on a wide variety of topics.
Since 2018, AIR, as a subcontractor to Westat, has contributed to ADRA studies focused on unemployment insurance, machine learning, and construction safety programs. An example of AIR’s work includes the Explorations in Data Innovations report, where AIR experts explored different options for employing machine learning to create and maintain a public-facing, labor-related data catalog for DOL.
Evaluation of State Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Programs
The Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program is designed to help unemployment insurance claimants return to work more quickly through supportive reemployment services. AIR, as a subcontractor to Actus Policy Research, is also working directly with two states—North Carolina and Wisconsin—to design and execute rigorous evaluations of their RESEA programs.
Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment Evidence Building Portfolio Project (RESEA EBPP)
The Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment Evidence Building Portfolio Project (RESEA EBPP) is building evidence on how RESEA and reemployment services speed unemployment insurance claimants to reemployment. As a subcontractor to Abt Associates and in partnership with W.E. Upjohn Institute, Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, AIR is providing evaluation technical assistance to states and conducting multi-state studies to identify promising participant selection approaches and understand the costs of implementing RESEA.
VETS Employment Navigator and Partnership Pilot
AIR is supporting the DOL CEO to conduct the VETS Employment Navigator and Partnership Pilot Evaluation, as a subcontractor to Westat. The project aims to understand and build evidence on the use of VETS employment navigators to improve outcomes for transitioning service members and military spouses.
The AIR team is conducting an evaluability assessment that draws from formative evaluation reports, discussions with national pilot staff, reviews of available quantitative data, findings from the Westat’s implementation and outcomes study (as available), and input from both CEO and a technical working group. The AIR team will summarize the final evaluability assessment findings in an evaluability assessment report, a research options memo, and a briefing.
Evaluation of San Francisco’s Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families’ (DCYF) High School Partnerships Strategy Program
San Francisco’s Department of Children, Youth and Their Families’ (DCYF) contracted with AIR to conduct a mixed methods implementation study to examine the participation, implementation, service coordination, and outcomes of program participants in its High School Partnerships (HSPART) program. HSPART programs are designed to provide youth at select San Francisco high schools with work-based learning and career exposure opportunities. The study focuses on understanding facilitators and barriers to HSPART program implementation, identifying areas for improvement and best practices, and examining the experiences of program participants. Findings from the evaluation will support DCYF’s efforts to refine HSPART programming and improve youth workforce development in San Francisco to better meet youth needs.
