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: License to Work

    Thousands of Baltimore jobseekers struggle to secure and retain employment because they do not possess reliable personal transportation. This report examines how barriers, such as driver’s license requirements, vehicle ownership costs, and spatial employment and transit patterns, prevent Baltimore residents from accessing stable employment opportunities.

    Abell Report: Beyond the Headlines

    As the city celebrates historic reductions in gun violence, the media continues to broadcast headlines warning of crime by city youths ages 17 and younger. This report analyzes data available from key entities engaged with crimes charged to young people.

    Photo courtesy of the Goucher Prison Education Partnership.

    2024 Annual Report

    A reflection on the promising new approaches and new resources that have been brought to bear in the last decade.

    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.