Identifying Gaps and Setting Priorities for Employment and Training Research by Carl E. Van Horn Christopher T. King Tara Smith Prepared for The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration July 2011 John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Identifying Gaps and Setting Priorities for Employment and Training Research Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................1 Purposes and Scope..............................................................................................................1 Consultation Process for Developing Recommendations.................................................1 The Context: Labor Market Upheaval and Constraints on Research Budgets................2 Improving the USDOL/ETA Research Process.................................................................2 Recently Completed Research, 2005 to present .................................................................3 Current and Ongoing Research...........................................................................................3 Criteria for Research and Dissemination Strategies..........................................................4 Conclusions and Recommended Research Priorities........................................................5 Chapter 1. Introduction ...........................................................................................................9 Report Scope .........................................................................................................................9 Process for Developing this Analysis ...............................................................................10 Report Organization...........................................................................................................10 Chapter 2. Context .................................................................................................................12 Recent and Continuing Labor Market Upheaval ............................................................12 Previous ETA Strategic Research Plans in Brief ..............................................................14 Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation Funding: Budget Constraints and Diffusion ..............................................................................................................................................15 Improving the Research and Dissemination Process ......................................................16 Chapter 3. Recently Completed Research, 2005 to 2010 .....................................................18 Research Supported by the Employment and Training Administration ......................18 Other U.S. Department of Labor Research.......................................................................27 Related Federally Supported Research.............................................................................32 Research Supported by State and Local Governments ...................................................43 Foundation-supported Work ............................................................................................48 Research Funded by International Organizations...........................................................55 Other Recent Employment and Training Research.........................................................55 Chapter 4. Current and Ongoing Research..........................................................................57 Research Priority Area 1: Integration of Workforce and Regional Economic Development.......................................................................................................................57 Research Priority Area 2: Methods of Expanding U.S. Workforce Skills ......................58 Research Priority Area 3: Increasing the Labor Market Participation of Underutilized Populations .........................................................................................................................60 Research Priority Area 4: Using State-Level Administrative Data to Measure Progress and Outcomes.....................................................................................................................64 Research Priority Area 5: Postsecondary Education and Training ................................64 Research Priority Area 6: Unemployment Insurance......................................................67 Chapter 5. Major Research Gaps and Priorities...................................................................69 Criteria for Prioritizing Research......................................................................................70 Overall State of Employment and Training Research.....................................................70 Research Process and Dissemination................................................................................71 Conclusions: Recommended Areas for Research ............................................................72 Identifying Gaps and Setting Priorities for Employment and Training Research Appendices.............................................................................................................................76 Appendix A. Members of the National Expert Advisory Panel ........................................77 Appendix B. References and Selected Employment and Training Research Bibliography, 2005-2010.................................................................................................................................78 Appendix C. Rapporteur’s Summary of 2009 USDOL ETA Recovery and Reemployment Research Conference.................................................................................107 Appendix D. Priority Research Topic Summary, by Stakeholder Group .......................114 Appendix E. Summary of Stakeholder Input ....................................................................117 Endnotes ...............................................................................................................................123 Identifying Gaps and Setting Priorities for Employment and Training Research 1 Executive Summary Purposes and Scope The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development prepared this report with support from a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s (USDOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA). Its purposes are to summarize recent research, to identify current gaps in employment and training research, and to make recommendations for future research processes and priorities that could better inform policymakers, practitioners, job seekers, and employers. Given the major challenges facing the U.S. economy and workforce in the early 21st century knowledge economy, it is imperative that federal, state, and local workforce policymakers and practitioners have access to rigorous, timely, and credible research about the programs and strategies that are most effective in helping American job seekers prepare to obtain and retain employment, as well as advance in their careers. This report reviews workforce and related research funded by several federal agencies, including the U.S. Departments of Labor, Education, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other federal entities. It also reviews research and evaluation projects undertaken by regional, state, and local workforce agencies and research supported by several national and regional foundations, including Annie E. Casey, Ford, Bill and Melinda Gates, Hitachi, Robert Wood Johnson, Charles Stewart Mott, Alfred E. Sloan, Joyce, and others, as well as research that has been or is being conducted independently by leading researchers without substantial public or private support. Finally, this report identifies high-priority research topic areas to examine over the next five years. Consultation Process for Developing Recommendations The process used to develop the recommendations included: A survey of some 665 stakeholders representing state and local workforce agencies, professional and labor associations, and community organizations; Interviews and meetings with a 20-member National Expert Advisory Panel (listed in Appendix A); and Interviews with USDOL senior staff from the National Office (including the Chief Evaluation Officer) and ETA national and regional offices. Although a wide variety of stakeholders offered their views about the criteria for selecting research projects for funding, the overall state of the employment and training research enterprise, and essential research priorities for the remainder of the decade, the conclusions presented in the report are those of the authors alone. Identifying Gaps and Setting Priorities for Employment and Training Research 2 The Context: Labor Market Upheaval and Constraints on Research Budgets With the onset of what is now referred to as the Great Recession in December 2007, labor market distress increased and unemployment levels rose dramatically. While the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew substantially and financial market indices rose over the past year-and-a-half, employment growth was modest, and unemployment remained well above 9% and the ranks of long-term unemployed workers reached the highest levels in more than 60 years. The hardest hit groups in the latest U.S. recession and recovery have been males (who have lost jobs in manufacturing and construction), minorities,