J-PAL North America, a research center in the MIT Department of Economics, has opened two Evaluation Incubators: the Housing Stability Evaluation Incubator and State and Local Evaluation Incubator. J-PAL North America's Evaluation Incubators equip partners to use randomized evaluations - the most scientifically rigorous method used to study program impact - in order to generate evidence about programs and policies that alleviate poverty.
Evaluation Incubators offer organizations and government agencies the opportunity to expand the base of evidence on solutions to pressing policy questions. Both incubators provide selected partners with technical assistance, training, flexible funding, and connections to academic researchers to build their capacity to generate evidence and utilize data to drive decision-making. Partners may also have the opportunity to leverage these resources to carry out a randomized evaluation in collaboration with J-PAL-affiliated researchers.
Growing housing instability necessitates innovation and evidence
In the United States, nearly 600,000 people experience homelessness on a given night, and over 1.4 million people access shelter in a given year. Homelessness disproportionately affects Black people, LGBTQ individuals, people with severe mental illness, veterans, survivors of domestic violence, and members of several other marginalized communities. Rigorous evidence on strategies to reduce homelessness and foster housing stability is critical to ensure that people have a safe and stable place to live.
Randomized evaluations have already demonstrated their capacity to transform the field. For example, rigorous evidence on Housing First programs - which provide housing with no preconditions - shifted narratives and norms of service provision when results showed marked reductions in chronic homelessness.
As the scope and complexity of housing instability grow in the United States, so too does the need for rigorous research to identify the most effective strategies to end homelessness. Current partners are focusing their research specifically on cash transfers.
Nicole Moler, impact analyst at Compass Family Services, notes the organization's excitement about the potential to implement and rigorously evaluate a cash transfer program with support from J-PAL North America: "We've had the opportunity to give small amounts of funds to some clients before and have seen the difference it can make, but haven't had the data to back up our observations. We are excited to explore randomized evaluation because we want to really know if it will work at a larger scale. At the same time, Compass has a desire to make sure the evaluation is done carefully, ethically, and rigorously. This is where J-PAL's expertise comes in."
While cash transfers are a promising solution, unanswered policy questions range widely, from how to address the shortage of housing supply to what bundle of services are most effective and for whom. As such, J-PAL North America's Housing Stability Evaluation Incubator invites letters of interest from service providers seeking to evaluate any programs aiming to reduce homelessness or foster long-term housing stability.
Continuums of care, community-based organizations, and other service providers that wish to learn more about this opportunity can contact the Homelessness and Housing Stability
