Funding will assist the investigator in leveraging 17 scaling and replication studies that MDRC is currently evaluating to better understand the conditions under which scale-up strategies are more likely to produce effects; what environmental factors, organizational capacities, and program features might influence success; and when and with whom programs are more effective. In phase 1, MDRC will assemble a research team to review the literature on scaling and implementation; consult with experts; and determine questions about context, organizational quality, scaling strategies, and program strategies that can be incorporated into the 17 scaling and replication studies it is leading. In addition, MDRC will work intensively with a subset of studies to develop strong plans to examine those questions. In phase 2, MDRC will produce a document for other funders, researchers, and other research and development efforts describing a conceptual framework for and recommended measures to assist the coordinated study of scaling efforts. This team will pay particular attention to data that can be collected at low cost and on malleable factors that affect the success of youth programs. The project’s efforts will inform the development of quantitative models for predicting impact variation and identifying factors related to impacts.
The goal of this project is to develop a conceptual framework that assists in the identification and measurement of factors that contribute to the success of scale-up efforts.
