Mathematica to Support Rapid-Cycle Research and Evaluation for the Administration for Community Living

Mathematica has received a contract to provide rapid-cycle research, evaluation, and technical analysis for the Administration for Community Living (ACL). A division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ACL supports programs and services that help older adults and people with disabilities to live independently in their homes and communities.

Accurate, timely research can help assess whether services are reaching the right people, working as intended, and supporting better decisions about program improvement. By generating evidence on a timeline that can inform action, the work will help answer emerging policy and program questions as priorities evolve.

“Policy leaders often need to make decisions that cut across programs, populations, and data sources, and they need evidence quickly enough to inform action,” said Mathematica Project Director Sean Orzol. “Rapid-cycle research can help turn emerging questions into focused analysis and timely findings that can help guide program improvement and evidence-based decisions.”

Mathematica will support research across Older Americans Act programs and other ACL priorities, including home and community-based services, caregiving, disability programs, care coordination, and efforts to avoid or delay institutional care. Depending on the question policy leaders seek to answer, the research may draw on Medicare and Medicaid administrative data, program and grantee data, national surveys, or primary data collection.

Mathematica will tailor each research effort to ACL’s decision needs, using approaches ranging from descriptive and qualitative analyses to quasi-experimental and mixed-methods evaluations. The goal is to provide decision-ready evidence about whether people can access services; how programs are being implemented; what outcomes they are producing; and how services may affect Medicare and Medicaid use, spending, and potential return on investment.

The contract builds on Mathematica’s current work with ACL supporting research on topics including home and community-based services, Older Americans Act nutrition programs, care transitions, and whole-person health.