On behalf of New York City Change Capital Fund, MDRC will conduct an implementation study to help advance the field of community initiatives and policy by developing evidence about how community organizations can deliver and advance programs to increase economic mobility.

MDRC’s approach is a formative one, with frequent feedback loops to implementers, funders, and technical assistance providers with the ultimate goal of supporting local practice and identifying promising community-based approaches to address intergenerational poverty. Extensive early evaluation feedback about operations and deep consultation with multiple stakeholders are critical components to determining the most appropriate questions and methods to examine outcomes and impacts in the longer term.

MDRC will work together with Change Capital funders, the Nonprofit Finance Fund, and other technical assistance providers in helping the community development corporations further develop and refine their theories of change, so as to develop projects that use data to inform planning and implementation, coordinate service strategies, launch significant interventions to alleviate intergenerational poverty, and build capacity to sustain a different business model for community development.

Research questions examine 1) the development and scale-up of community-based approaches to alleviate poverty, 2) the coordination of local efforts, 3) the use of data to inform practice and document achievements, 4) the role of public policy reform in community initiatives, and 5) the ways to overcome perennial funder-grantee challenges in initiative management.