Advancing diverse and equitable analysis to inform policymaking.
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The nine organizations of the Evidence and Equity Collaborative are working to support diversity in their workplaces, strengthen inclusive practices in programs and policy research, and build a foundation for equitable analysis ready to inform systems, policies, and programs across the nation.
In the fall of 2020, the chief executive officers of nine leading policy research organizations met to discuss the critical importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of public policy research and in their individual workplaces. The result is the Evidence and Equity Collaborative.
The first collaboration of its kind within the policy research field, the Evidence and Equity Collaborative brings together market leaders Abt Associates, American Institutes for Research (AIR), Mathematica, MDRC, NORC at the University of Chicago, the RAND Corporation, RTI International, the Urban Institute, and Westat for an initiative outside their usual roles as business competitors. As members of the Evidence and Equity Collaborative, these nine organizations representing more than 20,000 employees, are joining forces to support diversity in their workplaces, strengthen inclusive practices in policy research, and build a foundation for equitable analysis ready to inform policymaking across the nation.
Read MoreIndividually, we seek to address inequity within our own respective workforces by improving pathways into our organizations and practices around the recruitment, development, advancement, and retention of all staff, particularly those from historically under-served communities. As a group, we are enhancing the individual efforts of member organizations by facilitating cross-organizational learning on best practices and, where applicable, actively coordinating on internal practices. In doing so, we will promote greater workforce DEI within our field as a whole.
We work to coordinate on externally focused efforts aimed at enhancing DEI within our field and beyond. This may include, for example, nurturing partnerships with schools and other organizations to increase knowledge of and interest in careers in our field; expanding membership organizations’ and students’ networks to include each other; collaboratively promoting the behavioral and social science and consulting field at conferences and academic programs to attract diverse candidates; and making other externally focused efforts that promote equity and social justice within our field and, more broadly, throughout the world.
We are promoting a greater understanding of how research methods must evolve to better reflect considerations of cultural competence, equity, and justice. Our member organizations strive to generate research that is responsive and sensitive to these key considerations as part of methodological rigor. As we each continue to learn and implement strategies to do so effectively, the Collaborative is providing a venue to share perspectives within our member organizations that can enhance our collective understanding.
Since its founding in 1946, AIR has conducted rigorous research and used evidence to address complex social issues and improve the lives of people, both in the U.S. and across the globe. The AIR Equity Initiative is predicated on these same principles and strengthens our commitment through a bold investment in the generation and use of evidence to address the most urgent challenge facing our nation: systemic inequity.
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