Improving social policies and programs to better serve people in need
Equal Pay Data Collection Research (New!) Social Dynamics and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research are working on a briefing paper about payroll data collection for the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau. This work is connected to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' consideration of a new pay data collection tool, as well as to the work of the President’s Equal Pay Task Force. With the ultimate goal of reducing gender-based pay discrimination, Social Dynamics is examining which personnel data best facilitate employer self-monitoring efforts, as well as governmental oversight. Information on how employers collect pay data, and the capacity of payroll and HR information systems, will inform the report’s policy recommendations.
Universal Design Employment Project (New!) Social Dynamics, under contract to the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), is managing a pilot demonstration project designed to expand and promote the adoption and implementation of flexible workplace strategies that will assist in the recruitment, retention, and advancement of aging workers, people with disabilities, and other individuals with complex life situations. The pilot project is intended to examine how various models/types of workforce flexibility can support the employment of these groups of workers. Social Dynamics' role also includes preparing a detailed workplan for ODEP and developing a universally designed workplace flexibility training and technical assistance plan for the employer demonstration sites.
Twenty-Five individual Profiles of Successful Business Practices and Workplace Flexibility (New!) Social Dynamics is working with the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau to identify and create 25 profiles of U.S. businesses that have demonstrated innovative approaches to workplace flexibility that improve employee job satisfaction, retention, and productivity. These profiles will serve as valuable tools for increasing awareness of the benefits of workplace flexibility and will demonstrate how workplace strategies have been successfully implemented by business leaders.
Evaluation of the Disability Employment Initiative (New!) The Disability Employment Initiative (DEI) evaluation is a comprehensive implementation/process, outcome, and impact study. The implementation component includes the collection of information on systems change and the strategies implemented by each of the nine DEI grantees. The outcome evaluation provides findings on customer level outcomes while the impact evaluation focuses on measuring the efficacy of the DEI grants. Social Dynamics is being supported in this effort by Altarum Institute, Berkeley Policy Associates, and Mathematica Policy Research.
Evaluation of Individualized Learning Plans (New!) Under contract to the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), Social Dynamics, in partnership with the Institute for Educational Leadership, the University of Wisconsin's (Madison) Center on Education and Work, and Altarum Institute, will provide evaluation services focusing on the implementation of individualized learning plans in 14 high schools in four states. Social Dynamics' role also includes secondary analysis of outcomes for students with disabilities, support for the analysis of qualitative data, and focus groups with school staff.
Research and Analysis on Latin American Women Social Dynamics is working with the U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau on research and analysis utilizing pure, current, and historical statistical data to conduct research on trends in the employment, education, and socioeconomic progression of Latin American women in the United States from years 1920 through 2009.
Research and Analysis on Workplace Flexibility Policies and Practices In support of the Women's Bureau, this study will summarize and analyze research, key findings, recommendations, and the benefits/challenges of implementing worker flexibility policies and practices. Analysis of the factors that result in cluster demographics will be conducted, as will analysis of the impact of policies on women across different races/ethnic backgrounds. The first phase of this work will examine workplace flexibility for low-wage workers and small businesses. The second phase will focus on workplace flexibility for women working in the manufacturing, hotel, restaurant, and tourism industries.
Workplace Flexibility Policy Analysis and Forums Social Dynamics is working with ODEP and the Women's Bureau (WB) to blend the WB's existing evidenced-based strategies, which promote flexibility around job tasks, with specific FY2010 goals of the WB. This collaboration will amplify the WB’s 2010 Initiative on Workplace Flexibility by informing the WB of effective workplace flexibility strategies, content, and resources as they impact all employees, including individuals with disabilities. This effort includes national forums, policy analysis, and the development of an electronic toolkit.
Agency-Wide Look-Back Study This study of the products, programs, and collaborative initiatives developed by ODEP is part of a performance-based management initiative that supports the government’s performance measurement requirements. The look-back study is designed to assess the impact of the agency on disability employment and related systems and is aligned with the administration's new performance measurement system. The results of this work will serve as an analysis of ODEP's accomplishments and will provide a compendium of products that support the employment of people with disabilities.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Social Dynamics is a prime contractor awarded with a five-year contract with SAMHSA to provide feasibility and pilot studies, evaluation studies, sample design and methods, statistical methods, analysis of large databases, and system and organizational analyses.This contract will expedite the production of high-priority, short-term studies in support of various divisions within SAMHSA.
Innovative strategies that improve policies, programs, and agency operations.
