What Works in Social Policy?
Findings From Well-Conducted Randomized Controlled Trials
Problem: U.S. social programs, set up to address important problems, often fall short by funding specific models/strategies (“interventions”) that are not effective. When evaluated in scientifically rigorous studies, government-funded social interventions – such as K-12 educational curricula, job training projects, and crime prevention efforts – are frequently found ineffective or marginally effective. Interventions found to produce sizable, sustained effects on important life outcomes tend to be the exception. Meanwhile, respected government measures show that the United States has not made significant progress over many years in key areas such as reducing poverty and increasing K-12 educational achievement.
To Help Address This Problem: This site seeks to identify those social interventions shown in rigorous studies to produce sizable, sustained benefits to participants and/or society. The purpose is to enable policymakers and practitioners to readily distinguish the few interventions that are truly backed by rigorous evidence from the many that claim to be, so that they can use such knowledge to improve the lives of the people they serve. Although we support many types of research to develop and identify promising interventions, this site’s discussion is limited to the results of well-conducted randomized controlled trials, consistent with a recent National Academy of Sciences recommendation that evidence of effectiveness generally cannot be considered definitive without ultimate confirmation in such trials.
The Interventions We’ve Identified Are Linked Below. Those found through an expert review process to meet the Congressional “Top Tier” evidence standard are denoted Top Tier; those found to require just one more step to meet this standard – i.e., replication of their sizeable, sustained effects in an additional well-conducted randomized controlled trial – are denoted Near Top Tier. The other listed interventions have been found promising by Coalition staff but have not yet been identified by the expert panel to meet Top Tier or Near Top Tier (in some cases the panel has not yet reviewed them; in others, the evidence may have limitations such as only short-term follow-up).
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Click Here for Full List of Interventions, with Brief Abstracts
HEALTH CARE FINANCING AND DELIVERY
SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT