Research Overview
RACED conducts grounded, field-based research that centers the voices of people directly impacted by social, economic, and structural inequities. Our research does not rely solely on secondary datasets or administrative records. Instead, data is collected directly from individuals and communities whose experiences are often overlooked or excluded from traditional research and policy processes. We believe that data must come from lived reality to meaningfully inform equitable policies, programs, and resource allocation.
Research Approach
RACED’s research is built on a simple but critical principle: Those who live the reality must be the source of the data that describes it. Across all focus areas, we use:
🔹 Community-centered interviews and listening sessions
🔹 Field-based and street-level surveys
🔹 Participatory and observational research
🔹Qualitative and mixed-methods analysis
This grounded approach ensures that data reflects real conditions on the ground, rather than assumptions or incomplete system-based information.
Current and Upcoming Applied Research Projects
RACED’s applied research portfolio is designed to produce measurable outcomes and actionable deliverables that advance equity and human dignity at the community level. Projects are selected based on clearly identified community needs, the potential to generate grounded evidence from lived experience, and the capacity of findings to inform policy change, program improvement, and equitable resource allocation.
All RACED research relies on field-based data collected directly from individuals and communities most affected by the issues under study, particularly populations that are historically excluded from formal data systems and decision-making processes. Research deliverables include community-informed datasets, analytical reports, policy briefs, and equity-focused recommendations that are designed for practical use by policymakers, service providers, and community partners. RACED prioritizes research approaches that are scalable and transferable, allowing methods and insights to be adapted across communities and policy contexts.
Why These Research Projects
To ensure that research responds to real needs, not abstract priorities, RACED prioritizes research projects that meet the following criteria:
🔹The issue is experienced directly by communities, but is insufficiently represented in existing data
🔹 The populations affected are underrepresented or neglected in policy discussions
🔹Decisions are being made without adequate input from those most impacted
🔹Grounded data has the potential to inform fairer policies, programs, and resource allocation
Active Research Projects
PROJET 1 : Living Without Shelter: A Statistical and Field-Based Study of Unsheltered Homelessness in the Seattle Metropolitan Area
Project Status: Active
Description
This project examines homelessness through direct engagement with individuals living unsheltered, including those residing in encampments, vehicles, and public spaces. Data is collected through in-person interviews, listening sessions, and field-based surveys.
Study Rationale
Many people experiencing unsheltered homelessness are absent from administrative datasets and disconnected from services. Without their voices, housing policies risk being shaped by incomplete or inaccurate information. This project ensures that data reflects conditions as they are lived, not assumed
👉 Learn more about our Housing & Homelessness research
PROJET 2: Barriers to Healthcare Access Among Underserved Populations
Project Status: Active
👉Learn more about our Housing & Homelessness research
Project Description and Rationale
This project examines how economic instability, housing insecurity, limited insurance coverage, and systemic barriers affect access to healthcare among underserved populations. Through grounded, field-based data collection, RACED documents lived experiences to identify where and why access to care breaks down before treatment occurs.
Rationale
Health disparities are frequently assessed using institutional or administrative data sources, which may not capture barriers that occur before engagement with formal healthcare settings. As a result, unmet healthcare needs and access challenges experienced at the community level are often underrepresented. Grounded, community-sourced data is necessary to accurately document these gaps and to inform the development of equitable, evidence-based healthcare interventions.
Project 3: Justice-Involved and Left Behind: Dignity, Access, and Life After Incarceration
Project Status: Active
👉Learn more about our Housing & Homelessness research
Project Description
This project examines how individuals with justice system involvement experience access to social protection, housing, healthcare, and economic stability after system contact. Using grounded, field-based data collection, RACED engages directly with individuals who have experienced arrest, incarceration, probation, parole, or reentry to document barriers that persist long after formal system involvement ends. While criminal justice data often focuses on arrests, convictions, or recidivism, far less attention is given to how justice-involved individuals navigate fragmented social protection systems. Barriers related to eligibility restrictions, stigma, service gaps, and administrative complexity frequently limit access to housing, healthcare, employment, and public assistance—contributing to cycles of instability and exclusion.
Rationale
This project generates evidence that reveals how justice and social protection systems intersect in practice, not just in policy. The findings will support the development of equitable, dignity-centered approaches to reentry, service coordination, and system accountability.
PROJET 4: Economic Inequality, Labor Access, and Lived Experience
Project Status: Active
👉Learn more about our Housing & Homelessness research
Project Description
Economic inequality is not only reflected in income gaps but also in who is able to access stable, dignified work and who is consistently excluded from labor opportunities. Many individuals facing housing instability, justice involvement, disability, caregiving responsibilities, or systemic discrimination encounter barriers to employment that are rarely captured in traditional labor statistics. As a result, workforce policies and employment programs often overlook the realities of people navigating precarious work, informal labor, or repeated exclusion from the formal job market. This project examines economic inequality through the lived experiences of individuals who face persistent barriers to labor access. Using street-level, field-based research, RACED will collect original qualitative and quantitative data directly from people affected by unstable employment, underemployment, wage insecurity, and labor exclusion. The research will document how factors such as criminal records, lack of documentation, health conditions, caregiving roles, transportation barriers, and discrimination shape access to work and economic stability.
Rationale
By grounding analysis in firsthand experiences, this project seeks to move beyond abstract economic indicators and reveal how labor systems operate in practice for those most affected by inequality. The findings will provide actionable insights for policymakers, workforce agencies, nonprofits, and funders seeking to design employment strategies that are more inclusive, equitable, and responsive to real-world conditions.
Project Description
Education is often described as a pathway to opportunity, yet access to meaningful educational outcomes remains deeply unequal. Many individuals and families face barriers that limit not only educational attainment but also the ability to translate education into economic stability, mobility, and long-term opportunity. These barriers—such as housing instability, poverty, justice involvement, caregiving responsibilities, language access, and under-resourced schools—are rarely examined through the lived experiences of those most affected.
This project explores the relationship between education and opportunity by centering the voices of individuals who have experienced educational disruption, exclusion, or unequal access. Through street-level, community-based research, RACED will collect original qualitative and quantitative data to understand how structural conditions shape educational pathways across different life stages, including youth, young adults, and adults seeking reentry into education or workforce training.
Rationale
Rather than focusing solely on enrollment or completion metrics, this research examines how education functions in real life: who is able to access it, who is pushed out, and what supports or barriers influence long-term outcomes. The findings will help policymakers, educators, workforce agencies, and funders design education and training systems that more effectively expand opportunity, reduce inequities, and reflect the realities of the communities they aim to serve.
👉Learn more about our Housing & Homelessness research