MDRC Reviews

Pros

I've been working at MDRC for a little while now and it's been a positive experience thus far. The organization has a great mission and my colleagues are all passionate about the work they do. They've been intentional about having an inclusive environment set in place and strive to strengthen it by providing staff training and communications around topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion. There's also been a... push for more consistent feedback to both staff and management across the organization aside from the norm of annual performance reviews.

Cons

Being too collaborative has also lead to any decision that needs to be made, on the slow side, as often times there may be too many cooks in the kitchen.

Advice to Management

-Continue to think about ways to improve upon internal communications in innovative ways -Continue to encourage staff involved in the hiring process' to cast a wide net, check potential unconscious bias' and pursue candidates that represent the populations that we serve. It's a great way to give back to those communities! -Do pulse checks from staff via employee surveys to check on engagement and morale

Pros

People come to when when they want to , take off when they want to , even take unpaid days off. Low paying job, they try to low ball you and try to get you at the lower rate and when it come to raises, they give their top boss the money and feed you table scraps.

Cons

No growth, don't reach team members equally - favoritism big time.

Advice to Management

everybody should get pay/ worth for their years of experiences . more experiences more pay.

Pros

Smart and friendly colleagues The research is rigorous and demanding - challenges that can prompt professional growth

Cons

The organization is slow to change and some units/staff are hierarchical The bar to getting promoted from Analyst to Associate is high

Advice to Management

Allow junior staff to make more substantive contributions Be open to change

Pros

Benefits are great. Co-workers are even better. Can't believe how great my boss is & how welcoming my team-members are. Fortunate to have found a place where I get to work on something I feel passionate about while working in such a great environment.

Cons

Depending on who you work with, somewhat hierarchical. I don't experience that myself but have witnessed it with other teams & have heard from other people that my boss is the best about that kind of issue.

Pros

MDRC is a great organization dedicated to evidence based research to help the social policy populations they work with. The company just moved to a great new office with a view. They have a congenial work environment with friendly, dedicated staff that support each other.

Cons

The new office location is in an expensive area and there are less cheap food options around.

Pros

Super smart staff, lovely people, friendly, Democratic, great mission

Cons

Coddle their junior staff too much

Pros

Projects are run by interdisciplinary teams who are committed to the work at hand and incredibly smart. I was able to develop a whole suite of transferable skills while building close relationships with supervisors and project directors. The quality and feel of the job will be project dependent: some are fascinating, cutting-edge projects, while others are more traditional (reform tweaks) that might not be so... interesting.

Cons

It has an amazing reputation, but don't expect to get much outward facing credit for the work as an entry-level staff member. You'll be internally valued. They are sought out because they conduct "objective" research grounded in sound methodology and aimed at generalizable result. If you are more advocacy minded, this might not be the best fit.

Pros

Many smart people. Good training in SAS programming.

Cons

Elitist, stressful work environment that is also ridden with drama. Poor work-life balance. Horrible pay, long hours (constantly working on 3-5 different projects). Non-Associates (non PhD's)are treated poorly, although favoritism prevails for certain employees. Horrible promotion and learning opportunities (after initial training). At least a third of the work week is spent in meetings, where people talk in... circles about the same.

Advice to Management

Complete overhaul of management strategy. Provide actual training in management to managers, as company is mismanaged from top to bottom. Having a master's or a PhD does not a manager make. Employees have to report on a weekly basis to 5 people, in the least, about their weekly tasks/progress.