Washington, D.C. is the center of policy and possibilities, attracting people determined to solve complex problems and shape the future.

Ryan Moore has that problem-solver mindset. The associate professor at American University (AU) and senior social scientist at The Lab @ DC uses evidence-based research to tackle some of D.C.’s most urgent challenges.

“It’s not me designing something in isolation and then trying to convince someone to implement it,” Moore explains. “It’s agency leaders saying, ‘We have a problem,’ and we work together to develop a solution.”

Applied Research with Big Impacts
 

The Lab @ DC works with district agencies to identify issues and test innovative solutions. “There’s real value in being able to learn from the people who are running these programs, who are trying to solve hard problems,” Moore said. “That’s how we design better research, and it’s how we make a bigger difference.” 

In 2018, Moore and coauthors partnered with D.C.’s emergency services to address the overuse of ambulances for non-emergency situations. His research found that roughly one in four of the District’s 911 medical calls could be handled in clinics rather than emergency rooms.

In response, D.C. launched Right Care, Right Now, a 911 nurse triage program connecting non-emergency callers with a nurse in the call center. The nurse can provide immediate medical advice and arrange transport to a clinic or urgent care, helping to reduce ambulance wait times and alleviate overcrowding in emergency rooms.

The nurse triage program improved the use of ambulance services, emergency rooms, and primary care in the 24 hours after the 911 call:

• Ambulance dispatches dropped by 41%
• Ambulance transports fell by 28%
• Among Medicaid callers, emergency department visits dropped from 29.5% to 25.1%, while primary care usage rose from 2.5% to 8.2%

Moore and The Lab @ DC have also applied research to streamline government benefit renewals and improve rent subsidies for people experiencing homelessness.

Real Research Opportunities

“Being in D.C., being at AU, gives you the opportunity to work on real problems—on the problems that matter to people in a major American city,” Moore said.
That opportunity extends beyond faculty members. AU students serve as research assistants, contributing from conceptualization to evaluation, diving in to administrative data and developing solutions for projects with tangible impacts.

“They’re fully embedded in the work,” Moore explained. “These are not hypothetical class projects. They’re working with sensitive data on real public policy issues.”

Moore’s work shows the advantage of being at AU in Washington, D.C. where access, partnerships, and purpose come together to make a real and meaningful difference.