Focus areas

PRG works with government agencies, school districts, community-based organizations, industry leaders,  subject matter experts, and program developers to provide research and evaluation services across the following policy areas. Check out our Work With Us page to learn more about contracting opportunities.

Public Health

PRG assists federal and state health departments, treatment centers, and community organizations to assess initiatives that aim to improve health systems, promote healthy behaviors, and prevent disease. PRG works in close coordination with partners to better understand the needs of target populations, refine program implementation, and improve population-level health outcomes. For more information, see what we’re asking in public health.

  • Population health
  • Access to care
  • Service delivery capacity
  • Treatment retention
  • Substance use prevention and treatment
  • HIV and other STI risk prevention and treatment
  • Suicide prevention
  • Violence prevention
  • Adolescent health
  • Sexual and reproductive health
  • Perinatal and maternal health
  • Mental and behavioral health
  • Virtual and technology-based intervention
  • Implementation and outcome evaluation
  • Impact evaluation (experimental and quasi-experimental design)
  • Data collection and data monitoring
  • Needs assessment 
  • Vulnerability mapping

Education

PRG works in close coordination with community partners, program developers, educators, and policymakers to help them determine what is needed and what is effective in Pre-K, K-12, afterschool, and adult education. Our director of research is certified in the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) group design standards and our team has extensive experience conducting rigorous effectiveness research and carefully developing implementation and outcome studies. PRG has conducted evaluations in a variety of educational settings over the last 20 years, including working with schools, educators, students, and their parents in urban, rural, and tribal communities in Arizona, California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. For more information, see what we’re asking in education.

  • Academic achievement 
  • School engagement
  • Social and emotional learning (SEL)
  • Transitioning to middle and high school 
  • Progression in school and graduation
  • College and career readiness
  • Professional development and satisfaction
  • School systems change
  • STEM program innovation and testing
  • Entertainment education learning
  • After- and out-of-school programming
  • Implementation and outcome evaluation
  • Impact evaluation (experimental and quasi-experimental design)
  • Data collection and monitoring 

Workforce & Income

PRG works in close coordination with state agencies, non-profits, foundations, college administrators and faculty, coalitions, and other research and evaluation partners to build more effective programs and help them fully realize their objectives. We help our partners build better education and training programs, improve graduation rates, and expand economic opportunity through the provision of rigorous impact and implementation analyses. For more information, see what we’re asking in workforce & income.

  • Post-secondary education
  • Career readiness and job training
  • Upskilling, reskilling, and targeted skill development
  • Unemployment insurance
  • Reentry and employment
  • Poverty reduction
  • Economic development
  • Implementation and outcome evaluation
  • Impact evaluation (experimental and quasi-experimental design)
  • Data collection and data monitoring
  • Needs assessment 

Child & Family Welfare

PRG assists community-based organizations, state government agencies, and practitioners to improve the health and welfare of children and families. We provide evaluation and research services for programs and initiatives within community-based-organizations, family services agencies, schools, and job training centers for families in need of health care, mental health support, and/or wraparound services. For more information, see what we’re asking in child welfare.

  • Maternal, infant, and child home visiting
  • Tribal home visiting
  • Mental and behavioral health
  • Social and emotional wellbeing
  • Positive youth development
  • Care coordination and supportive services
  • Professional development
  • Implementation and outcome evaluation
  • Impact evaluation (experimental and quasi-experimental design)
  • Data collection and data monitoring

Housing & Community Development

PRG works with government agencies, national foundations, community-based organizations, housing agencies, and other research firms to assess programs and initiatives that work in the pursuit of healthy, resilient communities and affordable housing, and in the effort to reduce and end homelessness. For more information, see what we’re asking in housing.

  • Housing insecurity and assistance
  • Economic development
  • Disaster preparedness, case management, and recovery
  • Watershed management, coastal land loss, and restoration
  • Livable communities
  • Implementation and outcome evaluation
  • Impact evaluation (experimental and quasi-experimental design)
  • Data collection and management
  • Cultural consensus analysis

Youth Risk

PRG assists community-based organizations, state government agencies, and practitioners to improve the health and welfare of adolescents and young adults. We provide theory and innovation support, facilitation of stakeholder participation, and evaluation and research services for programs and initiatives within community organizations, schools, job training centers, and juvenile justice settings that are aimed at reducing risky behaviors. For more information, see what we’re asking in youth risk.

  • Positive youth development
  • Juvenile justice
  • Mental and behavioral health
  • Substance use prevention and treatment
  • Teen pregnancy prevention
  • HIV and other STI risk reduction and treatment
  • Peer mentoring and support networks
  • Implementation and outcome evaluation
  • Impact evaluation (experimental and quasi-experimental design)
  • Data collection and monitoring
  • Curriculum development and testing 
  • Youth advisory and participation