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

    Disconnected in Maryland

    This analysis of the 2019 American Community Survey reveals the racial and economic underpinnings of the digital divide across the state of Maryland.

    Pediatric Asthma

    Pediatric asthma enacts an unequal burden on Baltimore’s children. This Abell Report documents the prevalence of pediatric asthma in Baltimore and calls for an equity-driven, multimodal, public health approach to addressing it.

    2019 Annual Report

    Our 2019 Annual Report highlights programs that are meeting the needs of Baltimore’s most vulnerable citizens, advocating for changes to structures and practices that undergird inequality, and supporting residents who are building stronger neighborhoods across our city.

    Overcoming Barriers to Homeownership in Baltimore City

    Could additional first-time homebuyer incentives and more flexibly underwritten loans reverse declining rates of homeownership in Baltimore? The short answer: not alone.

    Baltimore College Fact Book: Data Digest of College Access Outcomes

    With support from the Abell Foundation, the Baltimore Education Research Consortium (BERC) released a College Fact Book, a compendium of college access-related data that provides a detailed overview of Baltimore City Schools (City Schools) students’ experiences preparing for, enrolling in, and completing postsecondary education.

    Header photo courtesy of Venture for America.