Why, how, and to what extent do programs/policies work? How do place and institutional structure contribute? What intended outcomes are realized, and what unintended outcomes have resulted? How do we measure program performance? I believe posing these questions is important to using resources efficiently and effectively in building a strong society. At Urban, I can draw on the interdisciplinary, multi-method expertise of my colleagues to collaboratively design strong research and evaluations that answer these questions, to inform decisionmaking within nonprofit organizations and across levels of government.
Teresa Derrick-Mills is a principal research associate in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the Urban Institute. She studies programs and translates research to improve implementation practice and knowledge building; studies and applies performance measurement and continuous quality improvement in an intergovernmental, cross-sector context; and seeks to understand the intersections of policy and practice, particularly in early care and education and workforce development. She recently coauthored a chapter in Nonprofits and Government: Conflict and Collaboration on the interrelationships of performance measurement for governments and nonprofits. Her current work includes translating research for practice in juvenile justice, strengthening the capacity of community action agencies to engage in evaluation, examining performance measures for employer engagement, studying child care subsidy systems, and developing apprenticeship frameworks. Before joining Urban, Derrick-Mills contributed to early childhood systems building in North Carolina through executive-level work in a nonprofit, and she spent a year in the federal government designing a new system of performance measurement for the Corporation for National and Community Service. Derrick-Mills is an adjunct professor at the George Washington University. She holds BS degrees in sociology and political science from Florida State University, an MPA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a PhD in public policy and public administration, with a specialization in program evaluation, from the George Washington University.
