What We Do

ServicesAnd that's not all we do

We’re committed to serving the communities of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through applied social science research. The Institute gathers, analyzes, and reports on data to support sound policy making and effective program development. Get exceptional end-to-end support for all of your data needs. Our experienced team keeps up-to-date with the latest in:

Data Services

Unlock the full value of data. We’ll help you collect it, manage it, integrate it, visualize it, and understand it. 

Research & Evaluation

Turn complex problems into evidence-based solutions. We’ll help you plan, conduct, monitor, and evaluate large-scale studies, both qualitative and quantitative, using the latest tools and research methods.

Planning & Decision Making

Improve performance and achieve results. We consider multiple perspectives and identify important stakeholders to help you understand not just what’s happening, but why and what to do about it.

Projects

Our expansive clientele comes from government, academia, and the public and private sectors. We help them:

Make informed decisions and develop data-based policy

Through surveys and site visits, we provided data that helped Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning adjust subsidy rates for their statewide child-care program to reflect inflation and increased operating costs. 

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Track public policy issues 

In partnership with Professor Emily Strohacker, we used the annual Lion Poll to gauge Pennsylvanians’ views on allowing school officials to carry firearms. Opinions were divided, suggesting that developing a statewide policy on the matter would pose challenges, since the commonwealth emphasizes local control of schools. 

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Assess the public’s knowledge of and views on critical topics

In focus groups we facilitated with Penn State’s College of Medicine, African American men shared their perspectives and knowledge about prostate cancer screening. The understanding we gained will help shape future interventions and awareness campaigns. 

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Perform benchmarking

We are studying Pennsylvanians’ flood-insurance purchasing habits and how knowledgeable realtors, lenders, and insurance agents are about flood insurance availability and products. This project for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency will contribute evidence on consumer flood-insurance purchasing habits. 

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Conduct academic research

The Life Unites Us campaign is fighting to end the stigma surrounding opioid use disorder in Pennsylvania. Our research project supporting the campaign includes two surveys per year, interviews, group discussions, analysis of secondary data, and the production of research briefs. 

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