UW poverty expert honored with national award

A professor has been recognized with a major award for her research advancing the study of public management and performance evaluation, particularly as applied to social welfare and labor market policies.

Carolyn Heinrich received the David N. Kershaw Award on Friday, Oct. 29, from the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management at its annual conference in Atlanta.

Heinrich is an associate professor with the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs and associate director of research and training at the Institute for Research on Poverty. The $10,000 award honors people younger than 40 who have made a distinguished contribution to public policy analysis and management.

Heinrich, 37, joined the La Follette School and IRP in 2003 as part of the Poverty Studies Cluster Hiring Initiative, which fosters interdisciplinary research through cross-departmental hiring. She is one of three new hires affiliated with IRP who are investigating poverty, its causes and consequences, and effective ways to address it.

“Carolyn builds on the La Follette School’s tradition of being one of the top-ranked institutions for research and scholarship in public affairs,” says Donald Nichols, La Follette School director.

Heinrich also is working with the state of Wisconsin on a child-support demonstration program, with the U.S. Department of Labor on its performance management system and with the governments of Argentina and Brazil on their social and human capital development programs. She is a founding board member of the Public Management Research Association and the incoming editor of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory.

“Carolyn Heinrich has had an important impact on the fields of policy analysis and evaluation research, especially in advancing research in the public management and performance measurement area. Her contributions have brought new rigor and technical sophistication to an increasingly important area of policy research,” Maria Cancian, IRP director and professor of social work and public affairs, and Robert Haveman, John Bascom Emeritus Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, wrote in their nomination letter.

The Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management recognized another La Follette School faculty member. Professor David Weimer was elected president-elect of the association, which brings together policy practitioners and researchers to address substantive public policy problems.