All too often policymakers lack the resources necessary to address every problem faced by their constituents. Accordingly, much of the Urban Institute’s research focuses on how they can best spend available resources, targeting those people most in need or those areas with the most potential for valuable improvement.

This week our four MetroTrends blog posts all strive for that goal:

• Brett Theodos blogged about intensive case management in Chicago’s public housing, and discussed strategies for targeting services efficiently
• Sue Popkin argued for a move away from that research “gold standard,” the random controlled trial – sometimes populations and studies are best served by other approaches
• Brianna Lososya wrote about foreclosures in Prince George’s County, describing the latest NeighborhoodInfo DC data that could help target prevention resources
• Timothy Waidmann pulled together new research about preventable chronic diseases, discussing how some hard-hit metro areas could see valuable healthcare cost-savings