MDRC

What MDRC does

MDRC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and social policy research organization founded in 1974 and headquartered in New York City, with 501-1000 employees. The organization designs, rigorously evaluates, and provides technical assistance for programs and policies affecting people with low incomes across K-12 education, postsecondary education, early childhood, workforce development, housing, income support, and criminal justice. Its research methodology centers on randomized controlled trials (RCTs), implementation research, behavioral science (e.g., the SIMPLER framework from its Center for Applied Behavioral Science), cost-effectiveness analysis, and advanced data analytics through its Center for Data Insights. Notable proprietary assets include the THE-RCT Network resources for postsecondary RCTs (funded by IES Grant R305D240057), the Effective Communications Checklist, the BIAS project methodology, and the WorkAdvance sectoral training evaluation framework.

MDRC serves four primary customer segments: federal, state, and local government agencies; nonprofit and community organizations; educational institutions and school districts; and policymakers and think tanks. Its revenue model is grant-funded philanthropy and contracted research: major funders include Arnold Ventures (a seven-year collaboration announced in August 2024), the Institute of Education Sciences, the Administration for Children and Families (including OPRE), the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, the Kauffman Foundation, MacKenzie Scott, and NOAA. The organization distributes findings freely through its publications library, the Evidence First podcast, videos, blogs, email newsletters, and social channels, and engages directly with agencies through technical assistance contracts. Sub-brands include the Center for Applied Behavioral Science (CABS), the Center for Data Insights, the Center for Effective Career and Technical Education, the THE-RCT Network, and the BEES portfolio of employment program studies. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

MDRC

Legal name

MDRC

Website

https://mdrc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

MDRC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization founded in 1974 that uses randomized controlled trials, behavioral science, and data analytics to evaluate education, workforce, housing, and social programs for government agencies and foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grants: MDRC is a nonprofit organization funded primarily through grants from foundations, government agencies, and philanthropists. Major funders include Arnold Ventures (seven-year collaboration announced in 2024), Institute of Education Sciences (U.S. Department of Education, Grant R305D240057), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), JPMorgan Chase Foundation, and MacKenzie Scott. Funding supports specific research initiatives in education, workforce development, criminal justice, and other policy areas.
2. Contract Research and Evaluation Services: MDRC conducts contracted research and evaluation studies for government agencies (federal, state, and local) and foundations. This includes program evaluations, implementation studies, and technical assistance engagements where MDRC works directly with programs and agencies to help improve their effectiveness.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

MDRC conducts rigorous evaluations of social programs and policies that affect people with low incomes, using randomized controlled trials, behavioral science, and advanced data analytics. It also designs promising new interventions, delivers technical assistance to help agencies and program operators improve effectiveness, and disseminates findings through publications, podcasts, tools, and direct engagement with policymakers and practitioners.

Product overview

MDRC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization founded in 1974 that conducts rigorous evaluations of social programs and policies affecting people with low incomes. Rather than offering a unified software product, MDRC's portfolio consists of research services, frameworks, and tools including: the Evidence First Podcast for disseminating findings; THE-RCT Network Resources for conducting randomized controlled trials in higher education; the SIMPLER behavioral science framework and Effective Communications Checklist from its Center for Applied Behavioral Science (CABS); the BIAS Project methodology for applying behavioral insights to human services; and WorkAdvance program evaluation models. Additional offerings include extensive publications and reports on K-12 education, postsecondary education, early childhood, workforce development, and housing; video/webinar content; and practical tools and resources for data collection, program implementation, and evaluation. MDRC also operates specialized centers including the Center for Data Insights and Center for Effective Career and Technical Education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Center for Effective Career and Technical Education: MDRC's Center focused on helping partners build systems and routines to clarify goals, improve program implementation, and respond to clients' changing needs in CTE programs.
• Center for Applied Behavioral Science (CABS)
• Center for Data Insights
• The Higher Education Randomized Controlled Trial (THE-RCT) Network
• Building Evidence on Employment Strategies (BEES)
• Evidence First Podcast

Products and services

• Evidence First Podcast A podcast series for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners that features conversations on evidence-based policy, student success, tutoring, and other social-policy topics.
• THE-RCT (The Higher Education Randomized Controlled Trial) Network Resources A free suite of curated resources that helps researchers plan, implement, analyze, and interpret randomized controlled trials in postsecondary education.
• SIMPLER Framework A behavioral science framework for diagnosing problems and designing behavioral interventions in human services domains including child support, child care, and work support.
• Effective Communications Checklist A practical checklist that helps social program staff improve written client communications using behaviorally informed principles.
• BIAS Project (Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency) A portfolio of behavioral intervention studies in human services that tests low-cost, behaviorally informed changes to program processes.
• WorkAdvance Program Model and Evaluation A sector-focused workforce development program model combining screening, targeted skills training, and employer engagement to advance low-wage workers into better jobs.
• Publications and Research Reports An extensive, freely available library of evidence-based reports and briefs covering MDRC's research domains and used by policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.
• Videos and Webinars Multimedia resources including webinars, project demonstrations, and educational videos that explain MDRC's research findings and methods.
• Tools and Resources for Researchers and Practitioners Practical tools and resources that researchers and program practitioners can use for data collection, program implementation, and evaluation.

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• JobsFirst / JobsFirst NYCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2026MDRC is a regional partner in JobsFirst's national expansion, which aims to replicate the NYC workforce development model in five regions by 2030. Work is underway in Pennsylvania and Nevada, with MDRC providing research and evaluation support alongside regional employers, educators, and workforce organizations.
• Advance CTEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025MDRC and Advance CTE convened experts in September 2025 to discuss workforce development for careers in the clean energy and climate economy, focusing on training programs for renewable energy, electric vehicles, and energy-efficient technologies. The collaboration examines policy recommendations and employment trends in the clean energy sector.
• Education Commission of the States (Strong Start to Finish)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMDRC supports the Strong Start to Finish initiative of the Education Commission of the States, which released updated Core Principles for Transforming Developmental Education with the goal of every U.S. student being on track to graduate after their first year by 2040. MDRC's research is cited in the report's evidence-based reform strategies.
• YouthForce NOLA (Educate Now!)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMDRC is the evaluation partner for YouthForce NOLA, a citywide career-pathway initiative serving New Orleans charter schools that connects high school students to careers through internships and training. MDRC conducts process and implementation studies, documenting stakeholder experiences and helping refine the program model.
• Delaware Department of Education (DDOE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMDRC partnered with the Delaware Department of Education and Advance CTE to carry out an implementation study of the Delaware Career and Technical Education Pathways Environmental Literacy Initiative, which embedded environmental literacy competencies into statewide CTE pathways.
• UNITE-LAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMDRC partnered with UNITE-LA to study the LA Regional Cleantech Career Academy, which trains young people ages 16-24 for clean energy careers. MDRC conducted interviews and documented the program's approach to building a diverse talent pipeline for the clean energy sector.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Urban Institute: Nonpartisan economic and social policy research organization with parallel focus on low-income populations, evidence-based policy research, and government-funded evaluation work.
• Child Trends: Nonprofit research organization focused on children, youth, and families — overlapping education, early childhood, and family self-sufficiency portfolios with MDRC.
• NORC at the University of Chicago: Independent research organization conducting social science research and program evaluation for federal agencies; competes directly in education and health/human services evaluation.
• American Institutes for Research (AIR): Major nonprofit behavioral and social science research organization with strong education, workforce, and human services evaluation portfolios — direct competitor for federal contracts.
• Mathematica Policy Research: Direct competitor in policy evaluation and social program research, frequently winning the same federal RFPs (IES, ACF, OPRE, CMS) and using similar RCT and quasi-experimental methodologies.
• RAND Corporation: Long-standing nonprofit social policy research organization with overlapping portfolios in education, workforce, criminal justice, and health; competes for major federal and foundation contracts.
• Abt Associates: Research and evaluation consultancy with comparable federal and foundation clients across education, workforce, health, and social policy — competing for the same large-scale evaluation RFPs.
• RTI International: Independent nonprofit research institute with significant social policy, education, and workforce evaluation practice; competes for IES, ACF, and foundation-funded studies.
• Westat: Employee-owned research firm conducting social program evaluations for federal agencies; direct competitor for IES, ACF, and HHS-funded research contracts.
• Brookings Institution: Nonpartisan think tank producing social and economic policy research; overlaps in education, workforce, and economic mobility policy analysis, though less focused on RCT-driven program evaluation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/results?search_query=MDRC
• Facebookfacebook.com/mdrcnews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mdrc
• Xx.com/mdrc_news

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about MDRC