Impact of DEIA Training on the Federal Workforce

Last registered on October 19, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Impact of DEIA Training on the Federal Workforce
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014609
Initial registration date
October 18, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 19, 2024, 9:50 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Kellen Kane
Affiliation
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Sebastian Jilke
PI Affiliation
Georgetown University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Meg Kays
PI Affiliation
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2023-01-03
End date
2024-08-31
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Labor
Additional Keywords
Diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, training, Federal government
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Consistent with Executive Orders 13985 and 14035, there is a government-wide initiative to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in the Federal workforce by offering training and educational content. The President’s Management Agenda (PMA) similarly includes the strengthening and empowering of the Federal workforce as one of its three pillars. The PMA’s Learning Agenda specifically asks what types of trainings and tools for Federal employees can improve equity outcomes Prior academic research on the effectiveness of DEIA trainings does not provide a clear picture as to whether they can induce changes in employee behavior to achieve desired DEIA outcomes.
This project will use a clustered randomized control trial (C-RCT) to evaluate the impact of a rigorous Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) training program for Federal employees on long-term behavioral outcomes, namely the utilization of sick days and work unit attrition.
The intervention is based on a robust DEIA training curriculum developed by a Federal agency for their workforce. The training program consists of a series of 11 virtual modules (plus one module designed to be delivered only to managers and supervisors). Sessions are designed to be highly interactive and take advantage of various virtual platform engagement tools. Each module takes roughly 90 minutes of time to complete and are delivered roughly every other week.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Jilke, Sebastian, Kellen Kane and Meg Kays. 2024. "Impact of DEIA Training on the Federal Workforce." AEA RCT Registry. October 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14609-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2023-02-01
Intervention End Date
2023-08-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Absenteeism at 18-months post randomization,
Attrition at 18-months post-randomization.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Cluster randomized control trial
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by use of statistical software, blocked by agency and quintile of estimated work unit size.
Randomization Unit
Work unit level
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
112 work units (estimated)
Sample size: planned number of observations
2886 employees (estimated)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
55 work units receive training, 57 control work units
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Georgetown University IRB
IRB Approval Date
2023-01-31
IRB Approval Number
STUDY00006074
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials