Financial capability programs have proliferated in recent years, but rigorous research into which programs and methods are effective has not kept pace. Practitioners, policymakers, and funders are increasingly calling for rigorous financial capability research, including randomized controlled trial studies (RCTs), which can produce the highest standard of evidence. In April 2013, the Urban Institute and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau hosted a roundtable on the benefits and challenges of financial capability RCTs. The group agreed that RCTs are most suitable for well-established and scalable programs. Frontline staff should be fully invested in the study and involved in designing implementation and data-collection strategies.
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