The Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) is currently engaged in a five-year (2021-2026), $10.6 million cooperative agreement with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to serve as the sole federally funded National Research Center on Poverty and Economic Mobility in the United States.
ASPE is the principal advisor to the Secretary of HHS on development of policy and legislation, strategic planning, policy research and evaluation, and economic analysis.
The agreement funds projects and programs designed to improve the effectiveness of public policies that reduce poverty, inequality, and their consequences, promote economic mobility and equity, and further develop knowledge of the structural causes of poverty, inequality, and economic insecurity. All programs prioritize building a pipeline of scholars from historically underrepresented groups and supporting their research.
IRP is working with the other ten institutions in the Collaborative of U.S. Poverty Centers (CPC) on key elements of the five-year agreement, including fellowships that provide training and mentoring as well as financial support; grants to support poverty and economic mobility research; annual training workshops for scholars at all stages of their careers; and dissemination of cutting-edge poverty and economic mobility research to a variety of audiences, including federal and state policymakers.
IRP integrates its National Research Center on Poverty and Economic Mobility efforts with its ongoing research, training, and dissemination activities that are funded by the University of Wisconsin–Madison, private foundations, and state and federal agencies.