Princeton professor Matthew Salganik’s book, Bit by Bit, explores the merging worlds of computer science and social science for timely, policy relevant research in the 21st century. In the book, he shows how traditional research techniques in the social sciences can sometimes be combined with digital tools and big data to generate high-quality evidence on a larger scale, in less time, and at a much lower cost. On the five-year anniversary of his book’s release, Salganik, who is also a member of Mathematica’s Board of Directors, spoke with On the Evidence about the book’s legacy and the evolution of the field of computational social science since he first taught a course on the subject in 2007.

A full transcript of the episode is available here: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/princetons-matthew-salganik-discusses-the-evolving-intersection-of-data-and-social-science-ethics

Read a free online version of Salganik’s book, Bit by Bit: https://www.bitbybitbook.com/en/1st-ed/preface/

Attend a virtual book talk on February 7, 2023 about Bit by Bit, including a Q&A with the author, hosted by the Washington, D.C. chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dc-aapor-book-club-20-bit-by-bit-social-research-in-the-digital-age-tickets-487575530537

Listen to a previous On the Evidence episode about the Howard-Mathematica SICSS, which features Salganik: https://mathematica.org/blogs/inside-an-initiative-to-diversify-the-field-of-computational-social-science

Learn more about the Howard-Mathematica SICSS: https://mathematica.org/news/howard-university-and-mathematica-to-host-computational-social-science-summer-institute 

Watch Salganik give a Tedx talk at Princeton University about the tension between ready-made data (big data) and custom-made data (with which social scientists usually work): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pj95xXHN2g

Learn more about Salganik and his appointment in 2018 as a member of Mathematica’s Board of Directors: https://mathematica.org/news/matthew-salganik-appointed-to-mathematicas-board-of-directors

86 | The Present & Future of Computational Social Science

On the latest episode of Mathematica’s On the Evidence podcast, guests Michael A. Becketts, Tracy Wareing Evans, Shavana Howard, and Matt Stagner make the case for state and local human services agencies to play a central role in the response to climate change.
 
Becketts is the director of the Fairfax County Department of Family Services; Wareing Evans is the President and Chief Executive Officer at American Public Human Services Association; Howard is an assistant secretary for the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services; and Stagner is a vice president at Mathematica. 
 
They explain how the field of human services is uniquely positioned to support communities that will be disproportionately harmed by climate change and they identify ways that social science research and other forms of evidence can help develop solutions to environmental injustice.

Additional resources mentioned on the episode, plus a full transcript of the conversation, are available here: mathematica.org/blogs/the-role-of-human-services-in-securing-environmental-justice

85 | Human Services Agencies Pursue Environmental Justice

For the final episode of 2022, we continue our annual tradition of inviting guests to reflect on Mathematica’s work with its partners in advancing equity, addressing the climate crisis, improving public well-being, and the role that evidence played in it. This year’s guests are Nancy Murray, Jill Constantine, and Chris Trenholm, who oversee Mathematica’s International, Human Services, and Health business units, respectively. On the episode, they discuss the following topics:  
•	Where they see signs of progress in the use of evidence
•	The increasingly important role of evidence in understanding and addressing inequities
•	Reasons to be optimistic about the growing use of evidence in improving people’s lives in 2023

A full transcript of the episode is available here: mathematica.org/blogs/advancing-equity-and-addressing-the-climate-crisis-in-2022-the-year-of-evidence-for-action

84 | Advancing Equity and Addressing the Climate Crisis in 2022, the Year of Evidence for Action

The latest episode of Mathematica’s On the Evidence podcast features Abigail Aiken, the 22nd recipient of the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize.

In Part 1, as part of her acceptance speech at the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management’s fall research conference, Aiken shares details about her personal and professional journey as a researcher in the area of evidence-based reproductive health policy. Listen to Part 1 here: https://soundcloud.com/ontheevidence/informing-reproductive-health-policies-with-timely-evidence-episode-83-part-1

A full transcript of the episode is available here: mathematica.org/blogs/abigail-aiken-on-using-research-to-inform-abortion-reproductive-health-policy

In Part 2, Aiken talks with On the Evidence host J.B. Wogan about how she ensures that her research informs the policy debate, even on a polarizing topic like abortion. 

Read the New Yorker profile of Aiken: www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/w…ortion-look-like

Learn more about the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize: www.appam.org/about-appam/awards…d-n-kershaw-award/

Listen to an interview with Sanya Carley, winner of the 21st David N. Kershaw Award and Prize: mathematica.org/blogs/understandi…-policy-decisions

Listen to an interview with Kirabo Jackson, winner of the 20th David N. Kershaw Award and Prize: mathematica.org/blogs/investing-i…s-in-the-long-run

83, Pt. 2 | Abigail Aiken on Using Research to Inform Abortion, Reproductive Health Policy

The latest episode of Mathematica’s On the Evidence podcast features Abigail Aiken, the 22nd recipient of the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize. 

In Part 1, as part of her acceptance speech at the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management’s fall research conference, Aiken shares details about her personal and professional journey as a researcher in the area of evidence-based reproductive health policy. 

A full transcript of the episode is available here: mathematica.org/blogs/abigail-aiken-on-using-research-to-inform-abortion-reproductive-health-policy

In Part 2, Aiken talks with On the Evidence host J.B. Wogan about how she ensures that her research informs the policy debate, even on a polarizing topic like abortion. Listen to Part 2 here: https://soundcloud.com/ontheevidence/informing-reproductive-health-policies-with-timely-evidence-episode-83-part-2

Read the New Yorker profile of Aiken: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/what-does-an-at-home-abortion-look-like

Learn more about the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize: https://www.appam.org/about-appam/awards/david-n-kershaw-award/

Listen to an interview with Sanya Carley, winner of the 21st David N. Kershaw Award and Prize: mathematica.org/blogs/understanding-the-equity-and-justice-dimensions-of-energy-policy-decisions

Listen to an interview with Kirabo Jackson, winner of the 20th David N. Kershaw Award and Prize: mathematica.org/blogs/investing-in-education-for-success-in-the-long-run

83, Pt. 1 | Abigail Aiken on Using Research to Inform Abortion, Reproductive Health Policy

Climate change represents the single most significant policy challenge in the 21st century. It is a multifaceted and global threat to society that affects a range of concerns, from the environment and food security to health and economic inequality. Recognizing the urgency of the threat, Mathematica recently established a climate change practice to help develop innovative and sustainable solutions that meet ambitious reduction goals for carbon dioxide emissions while helping vulnerable communities become more resilient. 

On this episode of Mathematica’s On the Evidence podcast, Tulika Narayan, the company’s vice president for climate change, talks about how data and evidence can help confront the climate crisis and mitigate its manifold impacts on society.

A full transcript of the episode is available here: mathematica.org/blogs/confronting-the-climate-crisis-with-data-and-evidence

Register for the webinar on measuring climate resilience: https://www.mathematica.org/events/improving-climate-adaptation-is-measurement-a-barrier

Learn more about Mathematica’s interdisciplinary climate change practice: https://mathematica.org/sp/climate-change/climate-action

Learn more about Tulika's appointment as Vice President for Climate Change at Mathematica: mathematica.org/news/mathematica-names-tulika-narayan-new-vice-president-for-climate-change

82 | Confronting the Climate Crisis with Data and Evidence

On this episode of On the Evidence, Don Berwick of the National Academy of Medicine’s Climate Collaborative, Tom DiLiberto of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Aparna Keshaviah of Mathematica explore the risks that climate change and extreme heat pose to human health and how data can help inform solutions.

A full transcript of the episode is available here: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/addressing-the-harmful-effects-of-climate-change-on-extreme-heat-and-human-health

Learn more about ClimaWATCH, an interactive online tool that can support communities seeking to understand and adapt to the local effects of heat waves on their residents’ health: https://mathematica.org/publications/climawatch-tool
 
Learn more about Mathematica’s interdisciplinary climate change practice: https://mathematica.org/sp/climate-change/climate-action

Learn more about the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s work over the past five years with more than 65 communities to map urban heat islands and use data-driven insights to mitigate the harmful and inequitable effects of extreme heat: https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-and-communities-to-map-heat-inequities-in-14-us-cities-and-counties

Learn more about the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Decarbonizing the U.S. Health Sector: https://nam.edu/programs/climate-change-and-human-health/action-collaborative-on-decarbonizing-the-u-s-health-sector/

81 | Addressing the Health Risks Posed by Extreme Heat

This episode of On the Evidence explores lessons from contact tracing for COVID-19 that should inform current and future efforts to rebuild the public health field, particularly its workforce, after the public health emergency ends.

This episode features the following guests: 

•	Elinor Higgins, a policy associate at the National Academy for State Health Policy
•	Shelley Fiscus, a pediatrician and senior policy consultant at the National Academy for State Health Policy
•	Rachel Brash, a strategist in the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development who helped oversee the Baltimore Health Corps Initiative
•	Shan-Tia Danielle, who worked as a contact tracer and led a team of contact tracers for the Washington State COVID-19 Contact-Tracing Partnership
•	Candace Miller, a principal researcher at Mathematica who directed the Washington State COVID-19 Contact-Tracing Partnership
•	Shaun Stevenson, an advisory services analyst at Mathematica who supported the Baltimore Health Corps Initiative

Episode transcript: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/charting-a-course-for-public-health-based-on-lessons-from-contact-tracing-during-the-pandemic

Learn more about the Washington State COVID-19 Contact-Tracing Partnership between the Washington State Department of Health, Mathematica, Comagine Health, and Allegis: https://mathematica.org/news/mathematica-partners-with-comagine-health-allegis-and-washington-state-on-contact-tracing

Read Mathematica’s interim (https://mathematica.org/publications/baltimore-health-corps-initiative-a-transitional-jobs-program-to-improve-public-health) and final issue briefs about lessons from Mathematica’s coaching of career navigators who supported more than 300 community health workers  under the Baltimore Health Corps Initiative: https://mathematica.org/publications/lessons-learned-from-the-baltimore-health-corps-initiative-a-transitional-jobs-program-to-improve

Read an independent evaluation of the Baltimore Health Corps Initiative, prepared by Abt Associates: https://moed.baltimorecity.gov/news/press-releases/2022-08-19-evaluation-baltimore-health-corps-pilot-economic-and-public-health

Explore a dashboard developed by Mathematica and the Public Health Foundation to present key demographic characteristics of (1) contact tracing trainees who received training through the TRAIN Learning Network and (2) the communities they serve: https://www.mathematica.org/dataviz/building-community-based-contact-tracing

Read a blog explaining the purpose behind the contact-tracing dashboard developed by Mathematica and the Public Health Foundation: https://mathematica.org/blogs/insights-for-building-a-community-based-contact-tracing-workforce

Explore an interactive map and table developed by Mathematica and the National Academy for State Health Policy that tracks state approaches to contact tracing for COVID-19: https://www.nashp.org/state-approaches-to-contact-tracing-covid-19/

Explore a Mathematica data visualization show

80 | Lessons from Contact Tracing During the Pandemic

On this episode of On the Evidence, guests Gloria Sachdev of the Employers’ Forum of Indiana, Maureen Hensley-Quinn of the National Academy for State Health Policy, and Evelyn Li and Guru Rasukonda of Mathematica discuss the value of new online tools for making sense of large sets of hospital cost and pricing data being made available in response to new federal regulations.

A full transcript of the episode is available here: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/using-data-transparency-to-control-hospital-costs

Explore Sage Transparency, a free online tool developed by the Employers’ Forum of Indiana and Mathematica. The tool draws on data from the RAND 4.0 Hospital Price Transparency Study, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and other health databases to show the real prices that employers pay for health care across the country: https://employerptp.org/sage-transparency/

Explore the Hospital Cost Tool, a dashboard designed by the National Academy for State Health Policy and Mathematica, which helps bridge the information gaps on costs and pricing: http://d3g6lgu1zfs2l4.cloudfront.net/

79 | Using Data Transparency to Control Hospital Costs

Across many safety net programs, workers with low income and their families face the threat of a sudden and unexpected loss of benefits if their earnings increase too much, sometimes resulting in a net decrease in overall income. Policymakers have long worried that the phenomenon, often described as the cash or benefits cliff, discourages work and reinforces dependence on public assistance. Over the past decade, the Social Security Administration has launched two national demonstrations intended to mitigate this so-called cash cliff effect in the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program.

The latest episode of On the Evidence explores the results of those demonstrations and what they mean for future efforts to address program cliffs in the SSDI program and many other safety net programs. Our guests for this episode are John Jones, David Wittenburg, and Diane Beaver.

Jones is an economist at the Social Security Administration in the Office of Research, Demonstration, and Employment Support who has overseen several large-scale randomized controlled trials testing potential changes to the SSDI program, including two discussed on this episode: the Promoting Opportunity Demonstration (POD) and the Benefit Offset National Demonstration (BOND).

Wittenburg is a senior fellow at Mathematica whose research on interventions to promote employment for people with disabilities includes evaluations of POD and BOND.

Beaver is an advisory services analyst at Mathematica who spent more than a decade at a community nonprofit counseling people on how work and other entitlements would affect their Social Security benefits. In that role, she played a part in implementing POD and has firsthand knowledge of what beneficiaries experience as they navigate the patchwork of program rules that govern the amount of government aid people can receive for housing, food, child care, health care, and other needs as their work status changes.

Find a full transcript of the episode here: mathematica.org/blogs/why-a-national-demonstration-to-mitigate-the-cash-cliff-in-one-safety-net-program-didnt-increase

Read the final evaluation report on POD: https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/documents/POD_Final_Evaluation_Report.pdf

Read the final evaluation report on BOND: https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/documents/BOND%20Deliv%2024e2%20FER%20Vol%201%2020181018.pdf

Find a summary of lessons learned from several decades of demonstrations by the Social Security Administration to test policy ideas in the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs: https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/demonstrations/lessons.htm

Learn more about the Ultimate Demonstration referenced at the tail end of the episode: https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/documents/Simplification_Demo_TEP_Final_Report_Final%20Remediated.pdf

Watch a recorded discussion between Pamela Herd and Sebastian Jilke, professors at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetow

78 | Addressing the Cash Cliff in Safety Net Programs: Lessons from a National Demonstration

The latest episode of On the Evidence, the Mathematica podcast, explores the primary care workforce crisis, a complex and long-standing problem that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Guests Sue Lin, Luci Leykum, Julie Schilz, and Diane Rittenhouse discuss recent research on the nature of the problem as well as evidence-based solutions for strengthening primary care.
 
Lin is the deputy office director of the Office of Quality Improvement within the Bureau of Primary Health Care at the Health Resources and Services Administration. 

Leykum is a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin who was involved in the creation of a report last year from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that looked ways to rebuild primary care. 

Schilz is a senior director on the Clinical and Quality Partners team at the Primary Care Development Corporation, which recently published a data brief on investing in primary care to achieve better health and equity in the United States.

Rittenhouse is a family physician by training and a senior fellow at Mathematica, where she co-authored a report for the California Health Care Foundation that reviewed evidence that could inform health policies aimed at increasing the size and diversity of the primary care workforce in California.

A full transcript of the episode is available here: mathematica.org/blogs/addressing-a-workforce-crisis-in-primary-care-made-more-severe-by-the-covid-19-pandemic

Have questions for our podcast guests? Julie Schilz and Diane Rittenhouse will be participating in a Twitter chat co-hosted by Mathematica on June 23 from 2 to 3 p.m. ET on challenges and opportunities for the primary care workforce. Use the hashtag #PrimaryCarePolicyChat to find the chat on Twitter.

Read the 2021 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on implementing high quality primary care: https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25983/implementing-high-quality-primary-care-rebuilding-the-foundation-of-health

Read Mathematica’s 2021 review of evidence-based strategies for increasing the size and diversity of the primary care workforce in California: https://www.mathematica.org/publications/health-workforce-strategies-for-california-a-review-of-the-evidence

Read the Primary Care Development Corporation’s May 2022 data brief on investing in primary care to improve health and equity: https://www.pcdc.org/resources/investing-in-primary-care-the-pathway-to-better-health-and-equity-in-the-united-states/

77 | Addressing a Primary Care Workforce Crisis

In honor of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, Mathematica’s podcast, On the Evidence, explores recent research on the societal costs of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. These disorders—which can include depression, suicidal thoughts, and panic attacks—affect women and birthing people during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Although these disorders are common, they often go undiagnosed and untreated, which can negatively affect the long-term physical, emotional, and developmental health of the birthing parent and child.

On this episode, Mathematica’s Kara Zivin, The Commonwealth Fund’s Laurie Zephyrin, and Texans Care for Children’s Adriana Kohler discuss the societal costs of maternal mental health conditions and how fresh evidence on those costs informed a policy change to improve the well-being of birthing people and their children in one state.

Find a full transcript of the episode here: mathematica.org/blogs/the-costs-of-untreated-maternal-mental-health-conditions

Additional resources:
Read the 2021 issue brief from Mathematica and the St. David’s Foundation that estimated the societal costs of untreated maternal mental health conditions in Texas: https://mathematica.org/publications/untreated-maternal-mental-health-conditions-in-texas-costs-to-society-and-to-medicaid

Read the 2021 issue brief from Mathematica and The Commonwealth Fund on the high costs of maternal morbidity: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2021/nov/high-costs-maternal-morbidity-need-investment-maternal-health

Read the 2019 issue brief from Mathematica, the California Health Care Foundation, the ZOMA Foundation, and the Perigee Fund on the societal costs of untreated perinatal mood and anxiety disorders in the United States: https://mathematica.org/publications/societal-costs-of-untreated-perinatal-mood-and-anxiety-disorders-in-the-united-states

State-level estimates, which Mathematica produced as part of the same research, are also available: 
California: https://mathematica.org/publications/societal-costs-of-untreated-perinatal-mood-and-anxiety-disorders-in-california
Colorado: https://mathematica.org/publications/societal-costs-of-untreated-perinatal-mood-and-anxiety-disorders-in-colorado
Washington State: https://mathematica.org/publications/societal-costs-of-untreated-perinatal-mood-and-anxiety-disorders-in-washington

Read an op-ed in STAT by Zivin, Zephyrin, and Mathematica’s So O’Neil about the toll of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth: https://www.statnews.com/2021/11/23/staggering-toll-pregnancy-childbirth-related-complications/

Read an op-ed in STAT by Zivin about how her personal experience with suicidal thoughts during pregnancy drove her to conduct research on access to health care for women with mental health and substance use conditions during pregnancy and postpartum: https://www.statnews.com/2021/03/11/meghan-markle-gave-voice-to-the-despair-i-once-felt-during-pregnancy/

76 | The Costs of Untreated Maternal Mental Health Conditions

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted human services agencies to rethink how they engage with clients and how they address persistent stress and trauma experienced by their own staff. 

On this episode of On the Evidence, Mathematica’s J.B. Wogan and Diana McCallum discuss how human services agencies have adapted during the pandemic. The episode also includes insights from Kataney Couamin and Andrea Barnum, who work at local agencies providing workforce services, as well as Mathematica’s Jonathan McCay and The Adjacent Possible’s Michelle Derr, who have provided research and evaluation technical assistance to state, tribal, and local agencies that administer the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

Find a full transcript of the episode here: mathematica.org/blogs/pandemic-era-adaptations-in-human-services-could-fill-a-need-even-outside-a-public-health-emergency

Read the issue brief about supporting mental wellness for TANF program staff and participants: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/supporting-mental-wellness-program-staff-and-participants-strategies-temporary

Read the issue brief about pandemic-era innovations for the future of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/brief-pandemic-era-innovations-future-temporary-assistance-needy-families-programs

Read the issue brief about lessons from delivering remote services to job seekers with low incomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: https://pathwaystowork.acf.hhs.gov/pathways_publications/lessons-learned-delivering-remote-services-job-seekers-low-incomes-during

Read the issue brief about what works to help job seekers with low incomes during economic recessions and recoveries: https://mathematica.org/publications/what-works-during-economic-recessions-and-recoveries-evidence-from-the-pathways-clearinghouse

Read the issue brief about providing coaching and navigation services virtually to promote economic mobility during the pandemic: https://www.mathematica.org/publications/using-coaching-and-navigation-to-promote-economic-mobility-how-might-programs-provide-these-services

Read a program snapshot about a nonprofit in South Carolina that used virtual services to continue supporting fathers during the pandemic: https://www.mathematica.org/publications/engaging-fathers-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-and-beyond-program-snapshot

75 | Human Services Adapted During the Pandemic. What Will Stick?

As the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change demonstrate, in an increasingly interdependent world, communities across the globe face shared challenges and need shared solutions. In the latest episode of On the Evidence, Adam Coyne, Chris Boyd, and Respichius Deogratias Mitti discuss the changing role of data and evidence in supporting decisions to improve well-being in a more interconnected world. 

Coyne oversaw international research at Mathematica for most of the past two years and currently serves as the company’s chief growth officer. Boyd is the managing director of EDI Global, a data collection and research organization focused on East Africa that became a subsidiary of Mathematica in 2018. Mitti is a country director for EDI Global who lives and works in Tanzania.

A transcript of the episode is available at mathematica.org/blogs/the-globalization-of-evidence-informed-decision-making-in-a-more-interdependent-world

Learn more about Chris Boyd, the managing director of EDI Global, in a recent Q&A for Mathematica’s blog: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/a-conversation-with-chris-boyd

Learn more about Mathematica’s international research in more than 50 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America: https://mathematica.org/focus-areas/international-research

Learn more about Mathematica’s ground-breaking work on studying negative income tax experiments in the United States, which has informed pilot projects in other countries as well as in the U.S. to test the impacts of monthly guaranteed income payments: https://mathematica.org/blogs/idea-that-launched-a-policy-research-revolution

74 | Globalizing Evidence-Based Solutions for an Interdependent World

Sewage has proven to be a valuable source of real-time SARS-CoV-2 data during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving public officials insights into the health of their community without relying on individuals getting tested. But as wastewater monitoring expands, local officials and their research partners are increasingly interested in how wastewater testing might also advance or hinder equity.  

On this episode of On the Evidence, guests Dr. Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, Dr. Otakuye Conroy-Ben, and Aparna Keshaviah discuss the challenges of and opportunities for ensuring an equitable approach to wastewater monitoring and the importance of representation from historic Black neighborhoods, Indigenous communities, and rural communities. Jelks, Conroy-Ben, and Keshaviah are involved with the Wastewater Action Group, a national initiative founded and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation’s Pandemic Prevention Institute that seeks to transform wastewater data into public health action. The group includes five grantees that serve tribal nations and four cities: Atlanta, Houston, Louisville, and Tulsa.
 
•	Jelks, an assistant professor in environmental and health sciences at Spelman College, is an expert on health equity and community-engaged research approaches for environmental justice in southwest and northwest Atlanta’s African-American neighborhoods. 

•	Conroy-Ben is an assistant professor of environmental engineering at Arizona State University, a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, and the principal investigator for research and community outreach projects funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health to support tribal nations in combatting coronavirus and improving local resources. 

•	Keshaviah is an applied biostatistician and principal researcher at Mathematica who is a nationally recognized expert in translational wastewater research, has led wastewater-based research in Montana and North Carolina, and is collaborating with the Rockefeller Foundation to develop robust analytics and tools that boost the capacity of public health personnel to use wastewater data. 
 
Find a full transcript of the episode here: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/ensuring-equity-as-wastewater-testing-matures-in-the-united-states

To learn more about the Wastewater Action Group and the Rockefeller Foundation’s broader wastewater activities, contact Megan Diamond, who leads its international wastewater initiatives: mdiamond@rockfound.org

Learn more about the Rockefeller Foundation’s efforts to deliver an equitable and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic while helping to guard against future pandemics: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/covid-19-response/

Learn more about Mathematica’s work harnessing evidence on wastewater testing, vaccines, rapid antigen tests, and contact tracing to guide the COVID-19 pandemic response: https://mathematica.org/focus-areas/health/covid-19

73 | Ensuring Equity as Wastewater Testing for COVID-19 Matures in the United States

On this episode of On the Evidence, Mathematica’s Mariel Finucane and John Deke join Tim Day of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation to discuss the application of evidence-informed Bayesian methods that not only confirm whether a policy or program works, but for whom.

Learn more about Mathematica's work using evidence-based Bayesian methods in applied policy research: https://mathematica.org/features/bayesian-methods

Read a brief about using a Bayesian framework for interpreting findings from impact evaluations prepared by Mariel Finucane and John Deke for the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation at the Administration for Children and Families: mathematica.org/publications/moving-beyond-statistical-significance-the-basie-bayesian-interpretation-of-estimates-framework

Read a paper co-authored by Mariel Finucane that compares Bayesian methods with the traditional frequentist approach to estimate the effects of a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services demonstration on Medicare spending: mathematica.org/publications/revolutionizing-estimation-and-inference-for-program-evaluation-using-bayesian-methods

Read a paper co-authored by Tim Day describing an experiment to provide evidence that would be useful to policymakers and other decision makers through an interactive data visualization dashboard, presenting results from both frequentist and Bayesian analyses: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335169870_Making_Evidence_Actionable_Interactive_Dashboards_Bayes_and_Health_Care_Innovation

Read Emily Oster’s newsletter article about why and how she applies Bayes’s Rule to interpret new evidence in the context of existing evidence, including a recent study (https://emilyoster.substack.com/p/does-pre-k-really-hurt-future-test) about the effects of a preschool program in Tennessee on future student test scores: https://emilyoster.substack.com/p/bayes-rule-is-my-faves-rule

72 | Bayesian Methods Could Provide the Key to Answering Which Policies Work Best for Whom

Last year’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was the largest one-time federal investment in state, local, and Tribal governments in the past century, and it included $350 billion meant for  governments to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. State, local, and Tribal governments have wide latitude in how they can spend the money, including the use of evaluation and data management tools that can improve the efficacy of public health and economic assistance programs. 

On the latest episode of On the Evidence, guests Zachary Markovits, Candace Miller, and Christy McFarland discuss the role that data and evidence are playing in state and local spending of ARPA fiscal relief funds. 

Markovits is the vice president and local practice lead at Results for America. His organization partnered with Mathematica to create the ARP Data and Evidence Dashboard (https://results4america.org/tools/arp-dashboard/), a free online tool that uses publicly available plans from local governments to analyze trends and assess the extent to which localities use data and evidence to guide how they spend their ARPA coronavirus fiscal relief funds. The dashboard is meant to inform and inspire state, local, and Tribal governments as they spend their coronavirus fiscal relief funds, half of which won’t be available until the spring.
 
Miller is a principal researcher at Mathematica who helped create the ARP Data and Evidence Dashboard with Results for America. She also leads Mathematica’s work with Washington State on contact tracing and has appeared on a previous episode of On the Evidence to discuss the opportunities of and challenges to implementing an equitable approach to contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

McFarland is the research director at the National League of Cities, which has developed the Local Government ARPA Investment Tracker (https://www.nlc.org/resource/local-government-arpa-investment-tracker/) and a local action tracker for COVID-19 (https://www.nlc.org/resource/covid-19-local-action-tracker/). 

Find a full transcript of the episode here: mathematica.org/blogs/the-role-of-evidence-in-how-local-governments-spend-federal-pandemic-relief-funds

Explore the ARP Data and Evidence Dashboard from Mathematica and Results for America: https://results4america.org/tools/arp-dashboard/

Explore the Local Government ARPA Investment Tracker from National League of Cities, Brookings Metro, and the National Association of Counties: https://www.nlc.org/resource/local-government-arpa-investment-tracker/

Read a blog by Zachary Markovits about how the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund in the American Rescue Plan Act encourages state, local, and Tribal governments to invest in solutions with evidence of effectiveness: https://results4america.medium.com/5-ways-governments-can-make-the-american-rescue-plan-work-for-all-526c8cda2537 

Explore the Local Action Tracker from the National League of Cities, which collects and shares municipal respo

71 | The Role of Evidence in Local Spending of Pandemic Fiscal Relief Funds

On this episode of On the Evidence, Temitope Ojo and Katlyn Lee Milless discuss their experience with the Mathematica Summer Fellowship in 2021. Ojo is a doctoral candidate at the NYU School of Global Public Health. Her research focuses on implementation science as well as the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease and other non-communicable diseases in a global setting.

Milless is a doctoral candidate in basic and applied social psychology at the Graduate Center of The City University of New York. Her research takes a psychological approach to understanding how to promote gender and racial equity in education spaces, particularly among college students in STEM—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

On the episode, Ojo and Milless discuss their career paths, why they’re interested in applied research, and what they plan to do after completing their dissertations.

Find a full transcript of the episode here: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/a-conversation-with-mathematicas-2021-summer-fellows

Mathematica is currently accepting applications for its 2022 Summer Fellowship program through the end of February. Find more information about the fellowship here: https://www.mathematica.org/career-opportunities/summer-fellowships

70 | Preventing Cardiovascular Disease and Promoting Equity in Higher Ed

In her research, Sanya Carley examines the effects of energy policies, including their equity and justice implications. 

In a new episode of On the Evidence, Carley discusses her increased interest in understanding the human element of energy policy decisions: Who makes policy decisions, who benefits from those decisions, and who does not. 

Carley is a professor at the Paul O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, where she directs the Master of Public Affairs (MPA) Program and O'Neill Online MPA Program. In the fall of 2021, she was selected to be the 21st recipient of the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize, which recognizes professionals younger than 40 who have made distinguished contributions to the field of public policy. 

In the episode, Carley discusses the origin story of her interest in energy policy, why she became interested in the equity and justice dimensions of energy policy, and how she ensures that her research influences decision makers. 

A full transcript of the episode is available here: mathematica.org/blogs/understanding-the-equity-and-justice-dimensions-of-energy-policy-decisions

Follow Carley on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/carleysanya

Listen to her new podcast, Just Energy, here: https://spoti.fi/3so2FXF

Read her scholarship here: https://bit.ly/3HlLPP5

Learn more about Mathematica's work on climate change here: https://mathematica.org/sp/climate-change/climate-action

Listen to our interview with Adam Coyne about Mathematica's recent work around climate action here: https://bit.ly/3msxxDZ

69 | Understanding the Equity and Justice Dimensions of Energy Policy Decisions

Between a pandemic, an uneven economic recovery, ongoing concerns about societal inequities, and increasingly troubling signs of climate change’s impacts, decision makers in 2021 faced an acute need for timely and reliable evidence about what works to address a range of health and social challenges. In this episode of On the Evidence, Mathematica’s Adam Coyne, Jill Constantine, and Chris Trenholm reflect on the role that evidence played in responding to pressing challenges in the past year and preview how evidence may help address problems in the year ahead. 

Coyne, Constantine, and Trenholm are the general managers of Mathematica’s International, Human Services, and Health business units, respectively. The episode features short interviews with each of them as they discuss some of Mathematica’s most significant work from the past year. Each interview includes a preview of projects, initiatives, and likely themes for 2022.

This episode is being released in conjunction with Mathematica’s year-in-review feature page, Inquiry to Insight, which includes a curated summary of impactful, evidence-based work by Mathematica and its partners in 2021: mathematica.org/features/from-inquiry-to-insight-in-2021

The interview with Adam Coyne begins at 2:00.
The interview with Jill Constantine begins at 18:22.
The interview with Chris Trenholm begins at 42:08.

A full transcript of the episode is available here: mathematica.org/blogs/reflecting-on-evidence-and-insights-in-2021-and-the-year-ahead

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