Social and Economic Systems Program Area
This program area addresses the social and behavioral sciences—including anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology—to understand and address complex relationships among people, communities, and their environments.
In progress
News and Updates
National Academies Report Inspires Actionable School Safety Strategies
Program News
Active shooter drills have become a standard practice in many U.S. schools, yet their potential impact on students and educators has received limited attention. Following a listening session series and consensus study by the National Academies, the impact across schools and districts has become apparent. The study’s resulting report, Active Shooter Drills: Mitigating Risks to Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Health, explores how active shooter drills are conducted and how to reduce potential harm while supporting school safety.
Federal Statistics Enters the Age of AI — Carefully
Program News
Federal statistics occupy a critical, but often unseen, place in public life. Produced and maintained with taxpayer dollars, these data are used to inform policy, guide business decisions, support research, and help people make daily choices in their lives and understand different things occurring in the country.
Our Expertise
The Social and Economic Systems program area brings together experts across the social, behavioral, and data sciences to analyze complex challenges and generate actionable knowledge for decision makers. Our work addresses issues that shape the social and economic fabric of the nation: the well-being of families, data and statistical integrity, population dynamics, and economic growth.
Work in this program area explores how social and economic systems can become more resilient, efficient, and adaptive. We provide objective analysis that strengthens evidence-based governance and improvements for research and fields of practitioners.
Statement of Task
Mobilizes the behavioral and social sciences – including anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology – and the statistical and other methods they employ to understand and address issues affecting the complex relationships among people, their communities, and the environments with/in which they interact.
Contributors
Staff
Natacha Blain
Lead
Major units and sub-units
Center for Health, People, and Places
Lead
Social and Economic Systems Program Area
Lead