University of Texas at Austin Ray Marshall Center

What University of Texas at Austin Ray Marshall Center does

The Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources is a non-profit applied research and evaluation unit housed within the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, founded in 1970 by Ray Marshall, PhD. The center conducts action-oriented research on workforce development, education policy, child support, opportunity youth, and social policy programs, combining academic rigor with practical policy recommendations. Its methodology centers on longitudinal data analysis and administrative data linkage, drawing on Texas Education Research Center records, unemployment insurance wage records, SNAP and TANF administrative data, and National Student Clearinghouse data to track participant outcomes over multi-year periods. The center's outputs include quasi-experimental program evaluations, randomized control trials where feasible, return-on-investment analyses, policy briefs, and peer-reviewed publications.

The center's portfolio comprises several distinct research projects rather than an integrated product platform: ESTOY (Evaluating Services for Texas Opportunity Youth), PATHS for Texas (Pursuit of Advanced Training in High-Demand Skills), CareerAdvance dual-generation program evaluation in Tulsa, the Texas Child Support Guidelines Review for the Office of the Attorney General, Travis County Workforce Development Evaluation, and the newly launched Employment Outcomes Support in Texas project. These projects are largely funded through grants and contracts from federal agencies (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, Department of Labor, USDA Economic Research Service), Texas state agencies (Texas Workforce Commission, Office of the Attorney General), and private foundations (JPMorgan Chase, Walmart Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, TLL Temple Foundation, Trellis Foundation, George Kaiser Family Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation). The center operates on a grant-funded cost-recovery model with no commercial pricing and does not charge for its services.

The center serves state and local workforce development boards, Texas state agencies, community colleges, domestic and international nonprofit organizations, and international development partners. Operationally, it employs 11-50 staff under Co-Directors Dr. Greg Cumpton and Dr. Heath Prince, with research activities spanning Texas (Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Travis County) and international projects in Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Jordan, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Research dissemination occurs through open-access publications, the center's website, email newsletters, social media channels, and academic conferences.

Name

University of Texas at Austin Ray Marshall Center

Legal name

Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources

Website

https://raymarshallcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Ray Marshall Center is a non-profit university research unit at UT Austin's LBJ School that conducts applied policy research, program evaluation, and longitudinal data analysis on workforce development, education, and social policy for government agencies, workforce boards, and foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research & Evaluation Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Research, Evaluation & Program Effectiveness Reporting (EDADAIAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Donor Coordination, Monitoring & Evaluation (MEL) Programs (BPADABAN), Education Reporting, Dashboards & Business Intelligence (BI) (EDADAIAC)

Keywords

• Applied policy research
• Workforce program evaluation
• Longitudinal data analysis
• Administrative data linkage
• Social policy research

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

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, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Federal and State Government Grants: The center receives funding from federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, the Department of Labor, USDA Economic Research Service, and state agencies including Texas Workforce Commission and the Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Funding supports program evaluations, policy research, and workforce development studies.
2. Foundation Grants: The center receives grants from private foundations including JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Walmart Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, George Kaiser Family Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation to conduct research on workforce development, opportunity youth, and poverty reduction.
3. Contract Research and Evaluation Services: The center provides contracted research and evaluation services to government agencies, workforce boards, and nonprofit organizations. Projects include program evaluations, impact studies, and technical assistance.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Ray Marshall Center conducts applied research and program evaluation on education, workforce development, and social policy, producing rigorous longitudinal studies, impact evaluations, and policy briefs for government agencies, foundations, and nonprofits. Its work combines administrative data linkage with mixed-methods research to generate actionable recommendations that inform workforce and child support policy in Texas and nationally.

Product overview

The Ray Marshall Center operates as a research and evaluation center offering multiple distinct research projects and studies rather than a unified software product. Its portfolio includes workforce development evaluations (ESTOY, PATHS for Texas, EOS, Travis County Evaluation), program implementation studies (CareerAdvance), and policy research (Child Support Guidelines Review). These are independent research projects that share methodological approaches but do not form an integrated product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Evaluating Services for Texas Opportunity Youth (ESTOY) A five-year longitudinal study examining pathways taken by Opportunity Youth (disconnected young adults aged 18-24 who are neither enrolled in school nor working) in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio after participation in youth-serving programs, measuring employment and postsecondary education outcomes. Funded for state agencies, foundations, and policymakers seeking evidence on Opportunity Youth interventions.
• PATHS for Texas (Pursuit of Advanced Training in High-Demand Skills) Statewide retail sector incumbent worker career advancement evaluation project in partnership with Workforce Solutions Dallas, funded by the Walmart Foundation, assessing training outcomes and economic impact. Conducted for workforce development boards, foundations, and policymakers evaluating industry-specific training interventions.
• CareerAdvance Implementation Study Longitudinal implementation study evaluating CareerAdvance, a dual-generation anti-poverty program in Tulsa, Oklahoma that provides workforce training for parents while their children receive early childhood education. Conducted for federal agencies (HHS ACF), foundations, and nonprofit organizations implementing anti-poverty programs.
• Child Support Guidelines Review Partnership with the Office of the Attorney General of Texas to review and update economic research on child support guidelines, including parenting time formulas and income-shares models. Conducted for the Office of the Attorney General of Texas and other state agencies requiring economic analysis of family policy.
• Employment Outcomes Support in Texas (EOS) Technical assistance and research support project providing colleges with employment rate data and labor market information to understand the role of educational programs in the Texas labor market. Provided for community colleges and higher education institutions seeking labor market outcome analysis.
• Travis County Workforce Development Evaluation Ongoing evaluation of Travis County's investments in workforce development, tracking participant outcomes and impacts from FY2016 through FY2024. Conducted for Travis County government and other local jurisdictions seeking evidence on workforce development returns.

Quantifiable outcome

• PATHS program participants increased employment by 8 percentage points and quarterly earnings by $2,332 after completing training
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Office of the Attorney General of TexascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2024State agency partnership for review of Texas Child Support Guidelines, updating economic research on child-rearing costs and evaluating support adequacy.
• The Aspen InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2021Partnership with Aspen Institute for data-driven longitudinal study of Opportunity Youth in San Antonio, using UI wage and National Student Clearinghouse data to monitor individual progress.
• UP PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2021Partnership with UP Partnership for Opportunity Youth research in San Antonio, tracking youth from program exit through employment or postsecondary education.
• Nuru InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Ongoing partnership for impact evaluations of agricultural development programs in Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Burkina Faso.
• Austin Community CollegecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 February 2014Evaluation of Health Professions Academy under DOL TAACCCT grant, tracking student progress and labor market outcomes.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2010Federal research partnership for ADARE-SNAP study analyzing interaction of SNAP caseload dynamics with unemployment insurance benefits and employment.
• Community Action Program of Tulsa CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2008Implementing partner for CareerAdvance program providing workforce training to Head Start parents with support services.
• Harvard UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2008Research partnership with Harvard's Center on the Developing Child and Graduate School of Education for CareerAdvance evaluation.
• Northwestern UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2008Research partnership with Northwestern's Institute for Policy Research for CareerAdvance implementation study.
• University of Oklahoma-TulsamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2008Partnership with OU-Tulsa School of Community Medicine for healthcare workforce training research.
• Texas Workforce CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2003State agency partnership conducting child care market rate survey for 28 Local Workforce Development Boards in Texas.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• RAND Corporation: Large, established policy research institution with broad workforce, education, and social policy programs. Operates at vastly greater scale than RMC; comparable on methodology (rigorous evaluation) but covers a much wider portfolio.
• Urban Institute: Major nonprofit research organization focused on economic and social policy, with deep workforce and antipoverty research portfolios. Overlaps with RMC's workforce and opportunity youth work but operates at much larger scale across many issue areas.
• Mathematica Policy Research: Large policy research and evaluation firm working on education, workforce, health, and social programs for federal and state agencies. Significantly larger and broader than RMC but competes for many of the same government evaluation contracts.
• Abt Associates: Research and evaluation firm with major federal contracts in workforce, education, and social program evaluation. A larger, for-profit competitor that pursues many of the same RFPs as RMC's government-facing work.
• American Institutes for Research (AIR): Nonprofit behavioral and social science research organization delivering technical assistance, evaluation, and analytics for education, workforce, and health programs. Competes for many of the same federal/state evaluation contracts as RMC.
• RTI International: Independent nonprofit research institute with extensive education, workforce, and social policy evaluation practice. Comparable in rigor and federal client base but operates at substantially greater scale.

Direct peers

• MDRC: Nonprofit social policy research organization dedicated to improving programs that serve low-income populations through rigorous randomized controlled trials and evaluations. Directly comparable in evaluation methodology and workforce/social program focus, though larger and freestanding rather than university-affiliated.
• Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago: University-based research center producing evidence-based research on children, families, and social policy. Shares RMC's university-embedded structure, quasi-experimental methodology, and program evaluation focus on vulnerable populations.
• W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research: A nonpartisan, nonprofit research institute focused on the causes and consequences of unemployment and workforce policies. Directly comparable to RMC's workforce evaluation, longitudinal tracking, and policy brief dissemination model.

Others

• National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER): Private, nonprofit research organization that produces working papers on labor economics, workforce, and social policy. While not a direct contracting evaluator like RMC, it is thematically comparable as a leading academic research hub informing the same policy debates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/raymarshallctr
• Facebookfacebook.com/raymarshallcenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ray-marshall-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about University of Texas at Austin Ray Marshall Center