|
|
Welcome to Building the Evidence Base, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office's (CEO) quarterly newsletter, where we share our latest independent research, data resources and upcoming events. This latest edition covers: CEO’s new Data Hub, tomorrow’s webinar on finding strategies that address equity in the Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research (CLEAR), and exciting opportunities to work with us.
|
|
|
New Feature: Find Labor-Related Datasets Using our New Data Hub
Get your data from one spot. CEO’s free Data Hub has open-access datasets on a range of labor-related topics in one location. Depending on the topic, you can find data files, codebooks, instruments, and more to use in your analysis. Search the datasets categorized by topic, population, departmental agency, geography, or browse all available datasets at once.
Check out the different types of available datasets at your disposal.
|
|
 |
Tomorrow’s Webinar: Using CLEAR to Help Address Equity Issues
We are excited to celebrate 10 years of CLEAR. As the Department of Labor’s flagship clearinghouse, CLEAR’s mission is to make labor research more accessible for use in decision-making.
Join us for tomorrow’s webinar to learn how to strategically navigate CLEAR to find evidence that addresses equity issues within worker protection, compliance, and workforce programs.
The recordings from all previous events will be posted on CLEAR’s website and CEO’s Events page soon.
|
|
Work with Us: Exciting New Opportunities
Are you interested in developing and managing rigorous, relevant research that can influence the future of labor-related programs and policies? Are you analytical, curious, independent, and want to be a part of an innovative team? If so, CEO is looking for you. CEO is now hiring for several Evaluation Specialist/Senior Evaluation Specialist positions (GS-13/14). You will provide oversight of a portfolio of evaluation research projects related to employment and training programs or worker protection and enforcement programs.This position is open to federal employees and to the public. Applications close on January 6, 2023.
Apply for the CEO 2023 Summer Fellowship, which is a paid, full-time work experience for 11 weeks (from June 12 to August 25). The Summer Fellowship will support up to five Ph.D.s (current, advanced students, or recent graduates). Summer Fellows will have the opportunity to gain valuable experience related to labor and evaluation or data analytics research and will complete and present an independent research project. Applications close on January 20, 2023.
Attend one of our information sessions on December 15th or January 10th to ask questions and hear directly from CEO staff and fellowship alumni.
Apply for the CEO Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) Fellowship to gain a unique opportunity to access and support departmental agencies with relevant and rigorous evidence-building activities on a reimbursable detail basis for up to two years. Fellows may conduct internal analyses with CEO’s data analytics team or support CEO’s extensive research and evaluation portfolio. Applications close on January 23, 2023.
|
|
Recent Reports and Briefs
CEO publishes new reports, briefs, resources and data sets to support labor programs and policymaking throughout the year. Learn more about selected evidence products, below:
|
|
 |
|
The UI program provides temporary financial assistance to qualifying unemployed workers and experienced significant increases in claims during the Great Recession and COVID-19 recession. Results from this study indicate the program plays a substantial role in macroeconomic stabilization. The report explores challenges to claims increases, and compares UI system reactions during both recent recessions. Read the full report and accompanying issue briefs to learn more.
|
|
The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) provides older workers (ages 55 and older) with job training and placement services. Read the full report to learn about the unique challenges that older workers face in today’s labor market, how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated those challenges, and how SCSEP strategies are shown to increase employment outcomes and wage earnings.
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
Individuals released from incarceration face substantial obstacles to successful reentry and self-sufficiency once in the community. The Pathway Home Grant program seeks to help mitigate these obstacles by providing linked pre- and post-release employment services to improve individuals’ chances of finding meaningful employment and avoiding recidivism. This report presents the design and conceptual framework for the program’s impact evaluation. Keep an eye out for upcoming briefs and reports on evaluation findings.
|
|
|
|
The AAI grants sought to expand registered apprenticeships and increase apprenticeship opportunities for underrepresented populations. Eight new briefs and reports cover topics ranging from the outcomes and earnings growth of participants, the return on investment of apprenticeship programs to employers, challenges and opportunities for expanding apprenticeships under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and much more.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Did you know that CLEAR recently completed a systematic evidence review on the impacts of interventions on mine worker and mine workplace health and safety? Researchers most frequently studied evaluation engineering controls interventions, and found that they prevented injuries or improved safety practices that could prevent injuries. There is some evidence that training interventions may increase knowledge and skills that could improve workers’ health and safety outcomes, and that policies or sanctions could also improve health and safety outcomes. However, gaps remain in our understanding of the effects of specific training programs, policies and sanctions, as well as the contexts in which safety violations take place.
|
|
Moving Research Forward: Staff Spotlight
 |
|
Gio Altamirano Rayo is a Senior Mathematical Statistician with over 15 years of experience in applied research and evidence translation, with a focus on human rights. She currently manages Behavioral Interventions and Data Analytics projects focusing on communicating findings in an intuitive way to encourage actionable next steps.
Gio stresses the importance of thinking carefully about the audiences we serve to bring intentionality and focus when targeting messages to meet different communication interests and needs. To do so, she recommends using the Behavioral Insights communications checklist when crafting communications to really connect with recipients and following the program improvement checklist when designing and structuring programs to increase the effect they can have on audiences.
|
|
|
|
|
|
