Published in Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory

Beryl Radin Award for best article

For The South African Child Support Grant Impact Assessment

Best of UNICEF Research Award

President-elect, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management

President, Public Management Research Association

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

A Look Inside Online Educational Settings in High School: Promise and Pitfalls for Improving Educational Opportunities and Outcomes

The role of teacher capacity and instructional practice in the integration of educational technology for emergent bilingual students

Informed practice improvements: exploring linkages between school district use of research evidence and educational outcomes over time

Presidential address: “A thousand petty fortresses”: Administrative burden in US immigration policies and its consequences

Reducing adolescent risky behaviors in a high-risk context: the effects of unconditional cash transfers in South Africa

Policymakers and public managers around the world have become preoccupied with the question of how their goals can be achieved in a way that rebuilds public confidence in government. Yet because public policies and programs increasingly are being administered through a complicated web of jurisdictions, agencies, and public-private partnerships, evaluating their effectiveness is more difficult than in the past. Though social scientists possess insightful theories and powerful methods for conducting empirical research on governance and public management, their work is too often fragmented and irrelevant to the specific tasks faced by legislators, administrators, and managers.Proposing a framework for research based on the premise that any particular governance arrangement is embedded in a wider social, fiscal, and political context, Laurence E. Lynn Jr., Carolyn J. Heinrich, and Carolyn J. Hill argue that theory-based empirical research, when well conceived and executed, can be a primary source of fundamental, durable knowledge about governance and policy management. Focusing on complex human services such as public assistance, child protection, and public education, they construct an integrative, multilevel "logic of governance," that can help researchers increase the sophistication, power, and relevance of their work.

Improving Governance: A New Logic for Empirical Research (American Governance and Public Policy series)

Mixed Methods for Policy Research and Program Evaluation by Patricia Burch and Carolyn J. Heinrich equips students, researchers, and policymakers in the social sciences with the tools they need for applying mixed methods in policy research and program evaluation, from design, through data collection, and dissemination. Emphasizing the "how-to"―the set of conceptual and active tasks carried out by mixed methods researchers―the book is illustrated with rich case studies from the authors’ own research projects in education and public policy. These examples help readers identify and explain policy and program impacts and better understand the "why" and "how" of observed effects. Throughout the book, the authors describe challenges that both beginners and advanced scholars are likely to encounter when doing mixed methods research and recommend practical tools available to address them.

Mixed Methods for Policy Research and Program Evaluation

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Carolyn J. Heinrich is a Professor of Public Policy and Education in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations at the Peabody College and a Professor of Economics in the College of Arts and Sciences. Heinrich’s research focuses on education, workforce development, social welfare policy, program evaluation, and public management and performance management. She works directly with federal, state and local governments in her research to improve policy design and program effectiveness and also collaborates with nongovernmental organizations (such as the World Bank, UNICEF and others) to improve the impacts of economic and social investments in middle-income and developing countries. She received the David N. Kershaw Award for distinguished contributions to the field of public policy analysis and management in 2004 and was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration in 2011.

Public Policy Analysis

K-12 Education Policy

Nongovernmental Organizations

Social Welfare Policy

Opioids Impact on Families

Economics

Public Policy

Healthcare

Education

social investments

Workforce Development

Immigration

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University Distinguished Professor of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations

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