What We’re Learning

What We’re Learning

We believe that a community of creative problem-solvers, faced with complicated, seemingly intractable challenges, is well-served by thought-provoking, research-based information and analysis. We support the development and dissemination of research in two ways:

Abell Reports

Abell Reports are commissioned reports by subject matter experts, academics, and investigative journalists that provide studies of selected issues on the public agenda.

Abell-Supported Research

These projects – undertaken with grant funding by academics and nonprofit research and advocacy organizations – advance learning on issues key to Baltimore City.

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    Featured Reports

    Abell Report: Later School Start Times for Adolescents in Baltimore City Public Schools

    Everyone agrees that teens need more sleep. So why does school start so early? This report examines the research on school start times and the implications for students in Baltimore City.

    2023 Annual Report

    Our 2023 Annual Report highlights the work of organizations across the city that are dedicated to addressing the complex challenges many of our neighbors face and of the great potential they hold.

    Abell Reports: Police-Community Relations in Baltimore

    In 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a consent decree for the Baltimore Police Department, mandating wide-ranging reforms. In a pair of companion reports, researchers from the University of Maryland examine the current state of community-police relations and how certain initiatives could help to improve them.

    Publications Library

    Examining the Opportunities and Challenges of the Rental Assistance Demonstration Program in Baltimore

    The Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) is designed to preserve public housing and provide the funding necessary for long deferred capital improvements. Has the program achieved those objectives in Baltimore? This Abell Report offers some early assessments.

    Taking Stock of Digital Inclusion in Maryland

    Where are the challenges of digital inclusion greatest in Maryland? This mapping tool, developed with funding from the Abell Foundation, uses a Digital Equity Index to highlight the communities — in urban and rural areas — facing the steepest challenges.

    The Costs of Baltimore’s Vacant Housing

    Vacant houses, uninhabitable due to abandonment or lack of owner investment, exert a heavy cost on neighborhoods and the City as a whole. This report calculates just how steep the public cost is and provides an economic backdrop for future action.

    2021 Annual Report

    Our 2021 Annual Report captures a sliver of the diverse, innovative ways Baltimoreans responded to the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic; the deeper, systemic challenges we face as a city; and the opportunity to build on our many strengths.

    Investigating the Geothermal Potential of Baltimore

    We need to develop sustainable, clean, and affordable sources of energy. Can heat from the Earth’s interior offer a potential solution? This Abell Report examines the science of geothermal energy and evaluates whether it’s a viable alternative for Baltimore.

    Header photo courtesy of Venture for America.