USDA Publishes Econometrica Report About Pilot to Help Schools Access Fruits and Vegetables for School Meals

USDA Publishes Econometrica Report About Pilot to Help Schools Access Fruits and Vegetables for School Meals

by | Last updated Apr 2, 2018 | Published on Apr 2, 2018 | 2018, Reports

Evaluation of Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables

Econometrica conducted a mixed-methods evaluation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Pilot Project for the Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables. In this Pilot project, participating States and school food authorities used their USDA Foods National School Lunch Program entitlement funds to procure unprocessed fruits and vegetables for school meals from any USDA Pilot-authorized vendor.

Econometrica used administrative data and data from interviews with State Distributing Agency officials to describe the fruits and vegetables purchased and States’ experiences with the Pilot. Econometrica also compared Pilot purchase data to USDA Foods and USDA Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (USDA DoD Fresh) data to better understand how States used the Pilot.

USDA selected the following eight States for the Pilot: California, Connecticut, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The key findings of the Evaluation of Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables are published on the USDA’s website.

In addition to the report, Econometrica also created downloadable infographics with data from each Pilot State.

Econometrica used administrative data and data from interviews with State Distributing Agency officials to describe the fruits and vegetables purchased and States’ experiences with the Pilot.

Check out our report and downloadable infographics.

View Report

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Econometrica’s 15-year legacy of providing American Housing Survey support services continues

Econometrica’s 15-year legacy of providing American Housing Survey support services continues

by | Last updated Oct 30, 2018 | Published on Apr 6, 2017 | 2017, News

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses a contractor to provide analytical support for the American Housing Survey (AHS). The AHS provides information on the size, composition, and quality of housing; characteristics of occupants and neighborhood; and other descriptive data. It is sponsored by HUD and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau through a nationwide biennial survey and periodic selected metropolitan surveys. Users of the AHS include analysts who support policymakers on housing and related issues, and academic researchers exploring housing conditions and policies. Econometrica’s support for HUD includes quality control and documentation to facilitate users’ proper understanding and interpretation of the data in the AHS, assistance with preparing standardized and specialized reports, and development and maintenance of a bibliography of documents that use the AHS.

Econometrica’s Housing & Community Development Group, led by Dennis Stout and with key support from Dr. Fred Eggers and Dr. Fouad Moumen, has supported HUD on the American Housing Survey (AHS) since 2002. We are familiar with the AHS from both the user’s and the insider’s perspective, including how it is compiled, structured, and coded; HUD’s established methods for analyzing and validating the quality of its data; and the variety of reports that are created by HUD from the AHS, including the Characteristics of HUD-Assisted Renters and Their Units report, the Components of Inventory Change (CINCH) report, the Rental Dynamics report, and other technical reports based on HUD’s research interests. HUD has an arrangement with the U.S. Census Bureau to compile and update AHS data periodically. Econometrica’s role is to perform basic quality control on U.S. Census Bureau data before it is released to the public, as well as perform other supportive tasks, including updating the codebook that the public uses to understand and manipulate AHS data. Other personnel contributing to this work include Tobey Wheelock and Doray Sitko.

On March 29, 2017, the U.S. Census Bureau released the microdata and codebook for the 2015 American Housing Survey, which includes the National Public Use File. The release contains records for the national sample and the 15 largest metropolitan areas, as well as the Metropolitan Public Use File containing records for 10 additional metropolitan areas. Read more about this release and access the files here.

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Econometrica: Black Lives Matter

Econometrica: Black Lives Matter

Econometrica actively stands with the Black community, our colleagues, their families, and clients in the fight against racism, injustice, and inequality.

Housing Needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives in Tribal Areas: A Report From the Assessment of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Housing Needs: Executive Summary

Housing Needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives in Tribal Areas: A Report From the Assessment of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Housing Needs: Executive Summary

by | Last updated Feb 24, 2018 | Published on Jan 10, 2017 | 2017, News

Since 2011, Econometrica has been working with the Urban Institute and other firms to plan for and study the housing needs and conditions of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians throughout the United States. This congressionally mandated study included components such as a study of Native Americans living in urban areas; household interviews and observations on tribal lands; a phone and web survey of Tribally Designated Housing Entities and tribal housing departments; and more. Econometrica is proud to have visited tribes across the nation, as well as Native Hawaiian Home Land communities in support of field interviews and other data collection efforts, including as a lead author of the Housing Needs of Native Hawaiians report. We also contributed to an analysis of U.S. Census data and supported formal government-to-government consultations in the development of the study. The Executive Summary was recently published by HUD, and we look forward to the forthcoming publication of the entire report, which will be submitted to Congress. Dr. Kristen Corey, Charles Hanson, Dr. Richard Hilton, Doray Sitko, and Wayne Mundy all contributed to this project. View HUD’s press release here.

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Expanding Our Partner Network

Expanding Our Partner Network

The HCD team is interested in expanding its consultant and subcontractor cadre to include individuals or partner firms with expertise in the following areas: disaster resiliency planning, disaster recovery funds management and program administration; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rural housing and economic development programs; Federal Housing Administration single-family housing policy, asset management, and marketing services; and local workforce development initiatives.

Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting (OIAF) Publication Assistance and Support

Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting (OIAF) Publication Assistance and Support

by | Last updated Feb 24, 2018 | Published on Sep 21, 2016 | Uncategorized

Key Work Areas:

  • Data Analysis
  • Data Integration
  • IT Support
  • Modeling & Simulation
  • Program Management
  • Survey Operations

 

 

Under subcontract to Z, Inc., Econometrica supported EIA OIAF in the following specific areas:

  1. Program management: coordinating contract and task order project kickoff meetings, preparing monthly status reports, providing earned value management, convening technical status meetings, preparing program management plans, and preparing trip reports.
  2. Survey operations: performing survey collection and data collection/receipt activities, tracking and pursuing survey non-respondents, and processing survey data.
  3. Energy analysis and modeling: developing and monitoring sophisticated statistical data programs and providing energy analysis and modeling support for the full range of fuel types, supply, end use, and energy conversion sectors.
  4. Data integration: managing integrated data products and developing and maintaining common data repositories.
  5. IT support: providing database administration support and developing and maintaining EIA software and web applications.
  6. Product/service development, production, and marketing: managing the full range of activities associated with developing, producing, and marketing energy products and services.
  7. Organizational support: conducting records management activities, preparing documentation, and providing organizational planning and coordination support.

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Econometrica: Black Lives Matter

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New Econometrica SAS Programmer Internship

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Are you a junior-/senior-level college student motivated to increase your SAS programming skills? Econometrica is now accepting resumes for our new SAS programming internship program, starting in spring 2020! For consideration, please forward a cover letter and your...