The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy. CEO’s research development process includes extensive technical review at the design, data collection and analysis stage, including: external contractor review and OMB review and approval of data collection methods and instruments per the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), Institutional Review Board (IRB) review to ensure studies adhere to the highest ethical standards, review by academic peers (e.g., Technical Working Groups), and inputs from relevant DOL agency and program officials and CEO technical staff. Final reports undergo an additional independent expert technical review and a review for Section 508 compliance prior to publication. The resulting reports represent findings from this independent research and do not represent DOL positions or policies.
| Project Name | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Administrative Data Research And Analysis (ADRA) | Studies undertaken under this project will analyze administrative data sets from agencies within the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). |
| America's Promise Job-Driven Grant Program Evaluation | The purpose of this study is to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of promising and innovative practices for strengthening the pipeline of skilled workers who are prepared to gain or advance in employment in H-1B industries, and to examine program implementation including the use of various funding streams to create sector strategies and develop regional workforce partnerships. |
| American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) Evaluation | The purpose of this study is to evaluate the American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) training programs across all 46 grantees. The AAI programs seek to: increase apprentices' access to high-growth occupations and industries; create career pathways that encompass apprenticeship and align with post-secondary educational opportunities; utilize strategies that increase apprenticeship opportunities for underrepresented populations; implement new and innovative public polices or public-private partnerships that increase demand for apprenticeship; and encourage employers to adopt and offer apprenticeship opportunities. |
| Apprenticeship Evidence-Building Portfolio | The primary purpose of the project is to design and conduct analysis to build and expand the evidence portfolio on apprenticeships, including models, components, partnerships, and strategies. |
| Behavioral Interventions in Labor Programs Evaluation | The U.S. Department of Labor Behavioral Interventions project explores how insights from behavioral science can be used to improve the performance and outcomes of DOL programs. It will include evaluations of at least 3-5 behavioral trials. |
| Career Pathways Descriptive and Analytical Study | This project will build evidence on career pathways employment and training strategies and inform further career pathways systems and program development |
| Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research (CLEAR) | To develop and maintain the DOL's research and evaluation clearinghouse website that will provide a central and trusted source of evidence on labor market interventions and innovations relevant to DOL's work. |
| Department of Labor Capacity Assessment | The assessment of the Department of Labor and its agencies will broadly address factors related to the coverage, quality, methods, effectiveness, independence, and resources of agencies’ efforts for using and producing evidence. |
| Department of Labor Summer Data Challenge on Equity and Underserved Communities | The purpose of the Summer Data Equity Challenge is to support rigorous research using public data, including DOL data, or other administrative data to examine how well Department of Labor policies, protections, and programs serve traditionally underserved communities. Competitively selected researchers will analyze existing data to help the department understand barriers to accessing benefits and services. |
| Employer Adoption of Voluntary Health and Safety Standards | This study seeks to better understand voluntary consensus standards systems for safety and health management, and the characteristics of, and perceived benefits to, the employers who adopt them. |
| Evaluation Technical Support | This project will provide evaluation technical support to CEO in leveraging data and expertise to assemble knowledge and answer questions of interest to DOL. |
| The Great Recession: Lessons Learned for the Unemployment Insurance System | This study will examine critical policy issues and lessons learned regarding the Unemployment Insurance (UI) system’s response to the Great Recession that began in 2007, and the economic recovery that followed. |
| Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Impact Evaluation | The goals for this study are to evaluate the effectiveness of Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program on participants’ employment outcomes, using the most rigorous design feasible (experimental or quasi-experimental methods); and to conduct an implementation evaluation to understand program models and variations, partnerships, and the homeless Veterans served. |
| ILAB EMPOWER Evaluation: Increasing Economic and Social Empowerment | The purpose of this study is to design and conduct a rigorous evaluation of the outcomes of DOL's Bureau of International Labor Affairs' EMPOWER grant. This grant aims to combat serious child labor issues in Zambia, particularly for vulnerable girls and their families. It will be implemented primarily in rural areas. |
| Information on Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration (STED) Paycheck Plus Site | The purpose of this project is to study the impact of an enhanced Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low-income individuals without dependent children in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. This project will build on and leverage research being conducted for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in its collaboration with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), on HHS's Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration (STED) Paycheck Plus site. |
| Job Corps Cascades Impact Study | The purpose of this study is to design and conduct a rigorous evaluation of the impact of the Job Corps pilot program, the Cascades Job Corps College and Career Academy, of the youth served. Cascades will serve high school drop-outs and unemployed youth ages 16 to 21. The pilot aims to provide expanded and intensive academic instruction, career pathways technical training, and non-cognitive skills training in two industry sectors, Health Care and Information Technology. |
| Job Corps Evidence-Building Portfolio | The goals for the project are to (1) develop research and evaluation framework options that will support DOL in ensuring a strategic, continuous learning process responsive to Job Corps’ evidence-building needs, and (2) evaluate innovations in Job Corps services, particularly in demonstration pilots and other service model variations. |
| National Health Emergency Demonstration Grants to Address the Opioid Crisis: Implementation Evaluation | This study is an implementation evaluation of the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration’s National Health Emergency (NHE) Demonstration Grants to address the opioid crisis. |
| OFCCP Compliance Officer Training Study | This study will examine the effects of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) compliance officer training on compliance officer behaviors and post-case audits, as well as to gain a greater understanding of the formalized training program. |
| Pathway Home Reentry Evaluation | The study aims to develop design options for an impact and implementation evaluation to assess the feasibility of conducting an impact evaluation and examine the implementation of the Pathway Home Reentry Grant program. Based on the results from the feasibility analysis, CEO plans to conduct the most rigorous impact evaluation feasible of the Pathway Home program. As part of the feasibility assessment, the evaluation will include a review of Pathway Home grants and the design of cross-site impact and implementation evaluation options to examine Pathway Home. |
| Pell Grant Experiments (with U.S. Department of Education) | To test the impact of 1) expanding eligibility for Pell Grants to students who already have bachelor's degrees and 2) expanding eligibility for Pell Grants to students who enroll in certain short-term vocational or career training programs on educational attainment, employment, and earnings. |
| Ready to Work Partnership Grants Technical Skills Training Evaluation | This project seeks to understand the implementation and effectiveness of select training and related services in the Ready to Work (RTW) Partnership grant program. It includes an implementation study to understand how the programs were designed and implemented and an impact study to measure the effectiveness of these programs in improving participants’ short and long-term outcomes. |
| Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) Evidence Building and Implementation Study | This project will include an implementation study of the RESEA program as well as develop strategies to support the evidence requirements in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 that relate to the RESEA. |
| Reentry Projects Grant Evaluation | This evaluation will include an implementation and an impact study among select Reentry Employment Opportunities grantees to understand their effectiveness in achieving the goals of improving participant outcomes such as employment, earning, and recidivism. |
| Support to Communities Grant Program Evaluation | The implementation study aims to provide new and critical information on promising practices and implementation challenges in providing services that address both employment and treatment needs for those with opioid use disorders (OUDs) and substance use disorders (SUDs). |
| TechHire and Strengthening Working Families Initiative (SWFI) | The purpose of this study is to identify effective approaches for preparing workers for middle- and high-skilled jobs in H-1B industries, with specific focus on individuals who have traditionally faced barriers to training and employment opportunities including youth and young adults, parents with childcare needs, individuals with disabilities, individuals with limited English proficiency, and individuals with criminal records. |
| Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Study: Behavioral Interventions Evaluation and Design Options for Long-Term TAA Evaluation | This project will test the application of a behavioral intervention in improving the administration of the TAA program, as well as develop evaluation design options for a rigorous long-term impact evaluation of the TAA program. |
| Transition Assistance Program Evaluation and Enhancement Pilots | To conduct a quasi-experimental impact analysis using administrative data to evaluate the DOL Veterans' Employment and Training Service's Transition Assistance Program. |
| Workers’ Compensation and the Opioid Epidemic: Analysis and Research Design Options | The study will analyze existing evidence and identify innovative interventions and initiatives that may be relevant to the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) client/customer population, and will develop research and evaluation design options for generating new evidence in the field. |
| Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Research Portfolio Project | The project is generating a wide range of short and long-term research options for the Department of Labor to consider as it seeks to strategically build rigorous evidence to support the continuous improvement of the Employment and Training Administration's programs and services. |