The Coleridge Initiative and MDRC are pleased to announce that three state agencies will be awarded funding and research support through the State IMPACT (Innovative Models for Policy Acceleration & Collaborative Testing) Collaborative. The Collaborative provides funding and research support to transform state policymaking by leveraging advanced data analytics and collaborative research to foster evidence-based decision-making and sustainable development. 

The three projects receiving awards are:

• Recidivism Reduction Initiative Through Analysis: Led by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, this project aims to test the effectiveness of workforce training in correctional facilities on reducing barriers to reemployment following incarceration. 
   
• Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Enhancement Project: Led by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, in partnership with The Ohio State University, this project aims to test the effectiveness of expanding RESEA services to individuals receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Unemployment Insurance who are currently not being served by RESEA services. 
   
• Improve Cross-Program Referrals: Led by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Board, this project aims to test the effectiveness of different strategies for implementing cross-program referrals from workforce development services in increasing enrollment in services.

About the State IMPACT Collaborative 

The State IMPACT Collaborative is a project of MDRC and the Coleridge Initiative with support from Arnold Ventures. Over two years, the State IMPACT Collaborative will offer training and technical assistance to state agencies committed to using research and evaluation to advance economic mobility among individuals and families with low incomes. This collaborative will build on MDRC’s proven learning-by-doing approach to increasing state agencies' data analytic capacity and MDRC’s 50 years of experience carrying out high-quality rigorous evaluations. Awardees will use Coleridge Initiative’s renowned Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF), which enables secure cross-agency and cross-state collaboration, and participate in a new Applied Data Analytics training program in partnership with the state of Arkansas that will include a new co-developed curriculum in evaluation methods.