Poverty Research Center Program

The University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research (UKCPR) will partner with the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) in establishing a Poverty Research Center. UKCPR will serve as a core research hub, with strategic emphasis on research themes #2: The unique characteristics and needs of the deep poor, as well as policies and strategies to combat extreme poverty and pervasive disconnection and #3 Policy and strategies to reduce poverty and material deprivation by encouraging work and promoting self-reliance and enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of existing human services programs. In this capacity we will work in collaboration with IRP to inform a research agenda related to the themes of deep poverty and material deprivation, identify and disseminate research related to these themes, and contribute to the mentoring and networking efforts in relation to pre- and post-doctoral scholars. In addition to maintaining an ongoing research and mentoring agenda, UKCPR will co-sponsor several key events during the award period. Specifically, in Year 1, UKCPR will co-sponsor with IRP and Carolyn Heinrich of Vanderbilt University the Annual Poverty Forum to be held at ASPE with a focus on labor market and self-sufficiency interventions for combatting poverty. In Year 2, UKCPR will cosponsor with IRP a two-day research summit on deep poverty that addresses issues on the measurement, trends, causes, and policy responses to deep poverty. The first day of the event will be a network event of core scholars researching deep poverty, and the second day will be a large event with formal presentations and discussants. In Year 5, UKCPR will co-sponsor with IRP a two-day research summit on the scope, unique challenges, and policy responses to rural poverty. Similar to the latter summit, day one will consist of a networking event of core scholars of rural poverty, and day two will consist of research presentations with assigned discussants.