As I was wrapping up my Ph.D. in the 80s, I knew my next steps would define my career. Down one path was academia, with the allure of job security, the potential for prestige among my peers, and the understanding of my professor father and teacher mother. Down another was an emerging cluster of independent research organizations and the chance to put my economics training to use in improving public policy. For me, the choice to follow the second path was easy—and so was the choice about where I wanted to work.
Mathematica had a well-earned reputation as a pioneer in policy research and evaluation—after all, they helped invent the field. If you wanted to work on big projects, with the potential to produce big impacts, you wouldn’t (and still can’t) find a better place to do it than Mathematica.
Back then, when people asked me what I did and what Mathematica was, the answer was simple. I was a researcher, and Mathematica was a policy research and evaluation firm committed to improving public well-being.
When people ask me the same question today, the answer is a bit more complex.
I’m a researcher, and always will be at heart. But I’m also a CEO. I lead a company that has grown from about 150 employees when I first started to more than 1,200 today. Mathematica has evolved as an organization since I first started 30 years ago. In addition to the important research and evaluation work we’ve always been known for, today we’re doing new and different things, working with new and different clients, and continuing to push ourselves and our fields forward with new and different tools.
Today’s Mathematica includes researchers like me, but we are also driven by the talent and expertise of economists, data scientists, educators, technology developers, clinicians, statisticians, policy experts, survey specialists, storytellers, and collaborators. Today, we don’t just collect and analyze data; we work hand-in-hand with our partners to improve programs, refine strategies, and enhance understanding.
Today’s Mathematica offers a different kind of relationship with our clients and partners. As the evidence-based policy movement has matured, the stakes are higher and the urgency is greater. We don’t just evaluate from a distance, publish findings in academic journals, and move on to the next project. We know that the best available evidence doesn’t always come from a multiyear randomized controlled trial. And though we’re immensely proud of our 50-year history, we understand that reputation is defined every day by quality, objectivity, and insights that make the difference between well-intended actions and effective outcomes.
Today’s Mathematica applies expertise at the intersection of data, methods, policy, and practice to improve well-being around the world. Our experts dive into urgent social challenges and collaborate closely with public- and private-sector partners to help individuals, institutions, and communities transform lives and produce real change in real time.
That’s what we mean by Mathematica. Progress together.
