Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) is a national nonprofit research organization that works to improve the lives of children, youth and families in high-poverty communities by making social programs more effective. P/PV identifies and examines gaps in programs designed to create opportunities for people in poverty. They use this knowledge to stimulate new program ideas, manage demonstration projects, conduct evaluations, and expand or replicate effective approaches.

Throughout their history, P/PV has focused on understanding and improving on-the-ground practice in social programs. They help nonprofit organizations use research and data to strengthen their programs' performance. They work closely with practitioners, funders and policymakers to design evaluations that determine not just whether programs work, but how and why. They embrace a creative approach to evaluation that is rigorous, fully engages practitioners as partners, and generates valuable guidance for program improvement and growth.

For more than three decades, P/PV has applied this unique approach to a range of critical areas, particularly workforce development, youth development and criminal justice. They share their findings nationally to encourage more programs to adopt effective practices and to generate support for these practices from funders and policymakers.