Department of Labor and National Science Foundation Analytics for Equity Initiative

Group of researchers at a round table discussing a research project

The Department of Labor’s Chief Evaluation Office (CEO), in collaboration with the National Science Foundation (NSF), the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is supporting research examining equity considerations in workplace safety and workers.

The Analytics for Equity Initiative supports research contracts in the social, economic, and behavioral sciences that leverage federal data in equity-related topics for public benefit across a number of federal agencies’ work, including DOL, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The goal is to produce rigorous empirical evidence and research in equity-related topics that the federal government and public can use to increase the impact of equity-focused evidence-based strategies.

Specific research questions include:

  • What measurements of current- and emerging-conditions should be considered for analysis in determining health and safety risks for workers and for communities? How do these conditions affect specific industries, regions, or populations disproportionately, based on publicly available data? Are there measures related to stress and/or mental health outcomes that can be captured through alternative sources, such as passive data (i.e., biomedical data collected through apps, phones, fitbits)?
  • What are the core capabilities and other skills necessary for the technical science industries, including positions in occupational safety and health, particularly as we consider the skills for the future and building the pipeline among different demographic groups?

CEO supports many efforts to better understand how DOL can strengthen the well-being of underserved, marginalized and excluded communities. Read more about the ways that CEO uses research to support DOL agencies’ equity priorities.