The

human
factor of
MDRC
Stories, Images,
and
Partisanship



Jennifer Steere
12/13/2013



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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
We have recently been approached by an influential Senator, and asked to delay the
release of a report because he believes it will help his re-election campaign. This poses
a dilemma in terms of ethical communication. This Senators request makes us appear
to be a partisan organization. But our mission statement boldly states that we are non-
partisan and unbiased in our research.
This situation has raised questions of our identity. By the dictionary definition we
appear to be partisan because MDRC is devoted to a cause. There is also the
projected image of partisanship-by-association because many of our funders and target
audiences are partisan in nature. Also, the issues we propone, minimizing poverty and
improving education, are supported by the liberal wing of our nations government.
MDRC identity is composed of more than our mission statement, logos and research
report. Our identity is also created by external forces like viewers of our website,
Facebook page and Twitter feeds, who impose their ideas of our identity on to us.
Company folklore also shapes the identity of MDRC. Yiannis Gabriel, PhD, discusses
the role that stories told by company employees, though they seem innocuous, reflect
an image of the corporate culture more realistic then our mission statement.
This proposal recommends a descriptive mode of inquiry that looks at the identity of
MDRC through a three-fold process. Create three research teams: two hired from
outside, openly partisan, research firms, aligned with the opposing parties, and an
MDRC research team. Each will create its own methodologies and criteria.
First, theyll evaluate our projected company image through our internet presence.
Second, stories and folklore within MDRC will be collected and evaluated for the image
of the company they represent. Third the variances among the research teams and the
studies will be used to generate criteria for identifying partisanship. These criteria will be
used in a review process of previous research to determine if MDRC reflects a partisan
bias. The criteria will be used to set norms that maintain non-partisanship, or to be used
to re-establish MDRC as an inter-partisan company if partisanship is identified.
There are risks and challenges to an intrusive internal study. Particularly, it draws
question to our credibility. MDRC, however, has always been on the cutting edge of
methodology, and trustworthy research. There would be greater question of our
integrity if we did not embrace an internal audit of this magnitude.



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Stories, Images and Partisanship:
The Human Factor of MDRC

In a research company, possibilities for discovery are shut out by predisposed
assumptions. Meticulous researchers, like those at MDRC, take measures to
overcome these assumptions, but one can only face a dilemma if one has awareness of
it. There may be blinders hindering our projects stemming from a systemic problem that
is built into the very framework of MDRC.
In our modern era of mass technology, Yiannis Gabriel claims that we use folklore and
storytelling arts to make sense of the bombardment of information. He goes on to
describe how organizations, as participants in this informational deluge, create stories
organically about themselves. These sense-making story formulas are at the heart of
defining the culture of the company.
If our actions consistently contradict the official image of this company, we are not
communicating honestly or ethically. As a company that tells a story of working toward a
greater good, ethical communication is at the forefront of our internal governing policies.
We now need to analyze our external governing policies.
In the external world, internet social networking compiles images of who we are. Our
website, Twitter feed, and Facebook page are portraits of how we see ourselves or
would like the world to see us. The stories that others tell involving MDRC, be it our
employees venting after work, or comments on the internet, also create this companys
identity and image. It is time we look in that mirror provided by stories and folklore and
find a way to use that information to improve the way we perform our tasks and to better
help those we seek to serve.

AN ETHICAL DILEMMA THAT FED AN IDENTITY CRISIS:

We have recently been approached by an influential Senator, who, after seeing the
preliminary results of a study that demonstrates substantial benefits to added programs
in urban schools, requested that we delay the publication of that study until closer to the
mid-term elections. He is up for re-election against an outspoken Libertarian candidate
who is gaining significant ground with his arguments against federal funding of schools.
The incumbent Senator believes the strength of the data provided by this study could
swing votes in his favor.


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This request raises concerns here at MDRC. We have always projected that we are
non-partisan and research driven. It is contrary to our mission statements to be guided
or influenced by politics. However, it is common knowledge that support for education
and welfare reform issues predictably comes from one party. There is a dilemma of
ethical communication. This situation then begs the question:
Do we see ourselves the same way as the world sees us?
In 2003, we made MDRC the registered corporate identity of our organization, thereby
formally adopting the name by which we had become best known to our professional
colleagues and the general public.
A name is a major identifier. To accept a given name is to embrace an imposed identity.
This identity is imposed through stories, folklore, and Twitter comments. The ways we
are talked about, and not talked about, pixilate an image of our company. We need to
define and describe this imposed identity to analyze if we are seen as non-partisan.
Modern communication and social networking has put corporations on par with
individuals. MDRC has a Facebook page and a Twitter feed. The company displays,
through its website, an image of itself. This identity was originally created when we
established a business culture, wrote our mission statement and chose logos. These
are self-imposed aspects of our identity that now function in the world to elicit externally
imposed aspects of our identity. Likewise, our internal culture performs the functions of
our identity. The identity of MDRC is a composite of these internal and external forces.
The MDRC website About Us begins the history with: MDRC is a nonprofit, non-
partisan education and social policy research organization.
1
TAs the first sentence of
our History, this is the foundational definition of our identity.
Ideally, MDRCs identity should meet the following criteria:
Exemplify non-partisanism
Be unable to locate partisan bias in our actions, content and reports
Coincide all actions and internal stories with our mission statement and company
images
The Oxford English Dictionary defines non-partisan as: not partisan. And partisan is
defined as An adherent or proponent of a party, cause, person, etc.; esp. a devoted or
zealous supporter;
2



1
http://www.mdrc.org/about/about-mdrc-overview-0
2
OED Online


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As this current ethical dilemma demonstrates, it is generally the Democratic Party that
champions reform issues for welfare and education. The target audience for many of
our reports is the government agencies responsible and the Democratic politicians that
fight for the legislation that institutes our recommended reforms. Therefore, we appear
to be aligned with a party.
Our website home page states, MDRC is committed to finding solutions to some of the
most difficult problems facing the nation from reducing poverty and bolstering
economic self-sufficiency to improving public education and college graduation rates.
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Being committed to finding a solution to a cause, is devotion. Much of the language of
the website identifies a proponent of the cause to end poverty and improve education
for all.
Currently, we do not meet the first criterion. We demonstrate adherence to a party and
propone a cause; therefore, we are partisan. Likewise, many of our funding comes from
foundations that commonly support progressive projects. Their names appear often as
supporters of liberal news outlets like National Public Radio (NPR) and Public
Broadcasting Station (PBS). The Annie E. Casey, The William T. Grant, The John D.
and Catherine T. MacArthur, and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations are a few of
these funders that demonstrate partisan alliance. Support from partisan groups may
appear to be partisan leanings.
Our project teams make efforts to separate politics and bias out of their research.
Personal biases could affect the way the world is viewed. These world-views are
expressed through stories and folklore inside the company.
Folklore is more than Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed. Folklore is a way of making
sense of the world. Images and events are cataloged and shared through stories.
Yiannis Gabriel, a professor of Organization Studies at the University of Bath, looks
closely at the folklore within a company and how it relates to company culture and
image.
The stories Gabriel researches are the simply everyday stories we tell about that
strange thing that happened when the copier broke, or other interesting daily events.
Sometimes these stories are repeated and become like legends within the company.
He offers the example of a newly appointed CEO, on his way to the first executive
meeting, uproots the sign in the parking lot that read, Reserved for the CEO. He
throws the sign, post, dirt and all, on to the table demanding to know who put it up. He
declares, This is not the kind of leadership I will have around here!
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3
http://www.mdrc.org/
4
Gabriel, Yinnias. Storytelling in Organizations. 20


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Gabriel argues that stories like this one, are passed on because they idealize a
component of the corporate culture. Sharing these stories reaffirms those
characteristics, both positive and negative, of the company.
5
The kinds of stories that
are frequently told within an organization can offer insight as conditions of the office
community. For example, comic stories, or jokes, that have one particular group
frequently as the butt of the joke, express an underlying tension
6
.
The stories and folklore of MDRC could offer insight into the identity of the company.
The legends that are passed within the company tell us something of what is valued.
Looking further into the messages contained in the stories we make will illuminate the
identity of MDRC.

THE NEXT MOVE: THE IDENTITY OF MDRC
In order to answer the umbrella question discussed above, we need to find the answers
to important supporting questions listed below. I am proposing an evaluation and
analysis of the socio-corporate culture and the external image of MDRC. What follows
is an outline of the identity research process we should conduct.
How do we see ourselves? Make an evaluation of the company image; look at the
argumentation of our website, Twitter feed and Facebook page. Look at the logos,
colors and formats commonly used for our reports, and notice when those norms are
challenged.
As researchers we often label ourselves as having a Dragnet mentality (Just the fact,
maam.) The purpose of these studies is to determine a quantifiable value of ideological
blinders. Like the common analogy of the glass half full or half empty, there are two
sides to every story.
I recommend this research, and all the research in this project, are conducted by three
different research teams in order to create a similar situation to our random-sampling
research methodology. Hire two outside, openly partisan, research firms, each aligned
with the party opposed by the other. The third group will be an MDRC research team
created through standard practice that will act as the control group. The same prompt
questions and raw data will be provided to each team, however the criteria and method
will be generated within each team.
Internally, compare and evaluate results for similarities and differences. The differences
should be used to generate a list for the review process. Review our previously

5
Gabriel, 31.
6
Ibid, 146.


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published reports for perspective that may have been regularly overlook because of
inherent (subconscious) and unintended personal ideology.
How is MDRC seen? There are stories beyond the facts and data sheets, and stories
to consider that are different then the survey questions often generated in the course of
research. Folklore still surrounds us. The gossip over the coffee pot in the break room,
or the stories told over beers while blowing off steam after work say as much (or more)
about the culture of the company as the mission statement and hiring programs.
The next phase is to conduct an anthropological study of the stories told within the
company. The stories should be collected by an independent researcher, one not
familiar with MDRC culture. The stories should be analyzed using the lists and criteria
generated through the partisan analysis and internal review just discussed.
What do we do now? If we find that a partisan bias does exist, MDRC should embrace
that partisanship and reshape our policies in exploitation of these faults. If we find we
are defined and identified as partisan we could create a new research philosophy
based on interpartisan standards, rather than a misinterpreted non-partisan standards.
If we can be classified as non-partisan, the lists and criteria used within the studies
should be the building blocks for establishing norms and policy for maintaining that non-
partisan status that includes a regular review similar to those described above.

POTENTIAL RISKS AND GREATER GAINS
The self-study proposed here contains elements of storytelling and review, but it would
not be all campfires and nostalgia. Like any internal audit, the process is difficult and
challenging. Challenges will come from both internal and external forces.
Once we embark on the study we must be prepared to change. Critics of the programs
weve supported may seize opportunity to discredit MDRC. It could be argued that the
mention of an internal search of our nonpartisanship is an admission to bias. In the
research industry, a bias limits the credibility of that company.
We changed our name to acknowledge how this company is recognized among our
colleagues and the public sphere. It would be against our reputation of looking at all the
angles to shut out this line of questioning because we dont like where it may lead.
Under the leadership of the two latest presidents, this nation has become more divided
and more partisan. The cataloging and labeling performed by social media has made
every action a predictor of another action. In turn, this leads every action to be political.
The scope of partisanship has widened to where it may be impossible to avoid it. The


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rejection of an internal audit of this nature, would demonstrate a greater lack of
credibility.
It takes integrity to face the music and ask the tough questions. An example could be
the advertising campaign and image overhaul launched by Dominos Pizza. The pizza
companys shares hit their lowest point in 2008, and Dominos chose to publicly confront
the ugly reality that people didnt like their product. The advertising campaign was
brutally honest and including many customer complaints that were then addressed in
the public eye. Dominos was able to take these harsh stories and use them to change
into a better pizza maker.
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MDRC is currently very successful. Our recently released report showcasing 40 years of
innovative studies reflects this desire to stay ahead.
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There is a higher demand of
transparency from corporations. This study would keeps us aware of ourselves during
changing times.
Part of the proposal recommends hiring partisan groups review our internal documents
and culture. There is a great concern that this leaves us very exposed. Confidentiality
breaches could occur or embarrassing stories could be made public, damaging our
reputation and credibility.
We perform internal audits regularly and there are protocols in place to protect against
these types of issues. MDRC has a more than 40 year record of weighing data and
options to create a recommendation to national policy that is trustworthy and successful.
We can use these same standards to vet those partisan companies to be hired. As a
condition of this vetting process, we would only select a company as committed to the
integrity of research that MDRC itself employs. So the risk of these concerns is no
greater than with any other research project that we initiate.
The actual cost of hiring external companies to perform the study, on the other hand, is
a greater concern. As a non-profit company, our budgets for each project runs tight.
Most grants are designated specifically to a project. An internal audit of this scale,
which includes the hiring of other research companies, seems financially infeasible.
MDRC, however, has on staff many talented and creative grant writers who have kept
these controversial projects funded for many years. In recent years many within our
ranks have earned awards for excellence in research. A personal study that ensures
we are communicating ethically and functioning ethically greatly promotes our own
research success. In fact, MDRC offers the Judith Gueron Fund for Methodology
Innovation which helps advance MDRC's work on new methodologies for developing

7
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-17/domino-s-brutally-honest-ads-offset-slow-consumer-
spending.html
8
http://mdrc.org/publication/40-years-making-difference-impact-mdrc%E2%80%99s-work-policy-and-practice


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evidence that informs policy and improves practice.
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The very purpose of this internal
audit looks to inform policy and improve our companys practice in terms of
nonpartisanship.

AT THE END OF THE STORY
Partisan division is pushing its way into more aspects of life in the United States. Our
participation in social media and our web presence subjects MDRC to the identity that
viewers of these sights impose on us. It is crucial to the credibility of this research
company that we understand what that identity is, specifically in relation to our claim of
non-partisanship in this heatedly divided political atmosphere.
MDRC strives to improve the lives of those in poverty, to help everyone along that road
to success. This proposal is offering up a mirror that reflects the image of this company,
not as a definition of itself, but by the definition that others stories give.
Within this highly structured working environment, MDRC maintains controls that work
to limit the human factor. This proposal works against that very concept and
recommends exploring the human nature of our researchers, of our work, and of our
relationship to the public. Story-making is the part of that human nature that tries to
make sense of this sea of information that floods the internet. How well those efforts
succeed, or how far the stories fall short, is at the heart of what this proposal seeks to
discover.




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9
http://mdrc.org/investing-future#overlay-context=about/about-mdrc-overview-0


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WORKS CITED

Gabriel, Yiannis. Storytelling in Organizations. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.
2000
Jackson, Anna-Louise and Feld, Anthony. Dominos Brutally Honest Ads Ofset
Consumer Spending. BloombergBusinesssweek. Oct. 17, 2011. Internet.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-17/domino-s-brutally-honest-ads-offset-
slow-consumer-spending.html
Professor Yiannis Gabriel. University of Bath School of Management. Faculty
Information Page. http://www.bath.ac.uk/management/faculty/yannis_gabriel.html
"partisan, n.2 and adj.". OED Online. December 2013. Oxford University Press. 15
December 2013
http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/138290?rskey=nSvOem&result=2&isAdvanced=false
"non-partisan, adj. and n.". OED Online. December 2013. Oxford University Press. 15
December 2013 http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/128031?redirectedFrom=nonpartisan.