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 are commissioned reports by subject matter experts, academics, and investigative journalists that provide studies of selected issues on the public agenda.
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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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.
Eviction prevention programs, which cover up to three months of past-due rent, are a cost-effective way to stabilize families, pay landlords, and reduce costs to the state. This report examines two different scenarios that would prevent disruptive displacements.
Ten years ago, Maryland’s legislature passed a bill to expedite utilities’ replacement of their natural gas pipes in the name of safety. Since then, Maryland has adopted ambitious climate goals that will require the near elimination of natural gas use in homes by 2045. Yet the state continues to allow utilities to invest billions in replacing pipes, which consumers will have to pay for — with a profit for the utilities — for decades to come.
Our 2020 Annual Report highlights programs that are creating a more digitally equitable Baltimore, reducing gun violence, decreasing racial disparities in chronic disease, supporting tenants facing eviction, helping Black entrepreneurs access capital and small-business loans, advancing medical innovation, and providing job training for graduates of Baltimore City Public Schools that will provide pathways to careers and higher education.
How much greenhouse gas is emitted from municipal waste landfills in Maryland? And what does that mean for the health and safety of our environment? With support from the Abell Foundation, the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) examined the data and, in this report, share their very sobering findings.
Concerned that the economic distress of the pandemic might lead to an increase in the number of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM), the Abell Foundation funded The Reinvestment Fund to do an analysis of HECM originations in Baltimore City.
Child care is critical to enabling families to work, to reopening the economy, and to broader community prosperity. This Abell Report asks how we can improve the financing and delivery of child care so that it is more equitable, efficient and effective for low-income families in Baltimore and across the state.
The teacher recertification process costs significant time and money for individual teachers and the broader public. This Abell Report lays out the process involved, describes the lack of clear outcomes, and asks if there’s a better way.
Header photo courtesy of Venture for America.
