The Project on Workforce Joins the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government

The Project on Workforce Marks Five Years of Impact with Transition to the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government

October 2025 — The Project on Workforce at Harvard, an interdisciplinary research initiative between the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and Harvard  Graduate School of Education, is proud to mark its fifth anniversary with an exciting new chapter. Beginning this fall, the Project will move from its founding home at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy to the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government (M-RCBG).

Since its launch in 2020, the Project on Workforce has brought together scholars and practitioners from across Harvard and the workforce ecosystem to solve pressing challenges at the intersection of education, labor markets, and economic mobility. Over the past five years, the Project has:

• advanced innovative research and data tools on workforce training and pathways to opportunity, including the Workforce Almanac and College-to-Jobs Map; 

• published more than 30 influential reports on critical issues ranging from state policies to community college-employer partnerships and the impact of generative AI;

• collaborated with and convened more than 3,500 business leaders, educators, and policymakers to design evidence-based solutions that expand economic opportunity;

• supported and mentored more than 400 students through a Cross-Harvard Study Group, research assistantship and fellowships to build the next generation of workforce leaders. 

“The Project on Workforce has flourished at the Malcolm Wiener Center, and we are deeply grateful for the Wiener Center’s support in cultivating our research and impact during our formative years,” said Professor David Deming, Faculty Co-Chair of the Project, Danoff Dean of Harvard College and Isabelle and Scott Professor of Political Economy at the Harvard Kennedy School. “As we look ahead, the move to the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government offers an exciting opportunity to expand our reach and strengthen our alignment with pressing challenges at the nexus of markets, policy, and governance.”

“Businesses play an essential role in building pathways to mobility, but lasting progress only comes when business, education, and policy leaders work in concert,” said Professor Joseph Fuller, Faculty Co-Chair of the Project on Workforce, Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School. “This move positions the Project to deepen those partnerships and scale solutions that expand opportunity for all.”

Housed at M-RCBG, the Project on Workforce will continue its mission of generating actionable research, convening leaders across government, business, and education, and preparing the next generation of innovators who will shape an education and training system that advances equity and opportunity for all. The Project’s work aligns with M-RCBG’s broader goal of bridging the worlds of business and government to solve complex public challenges. 

“This transition underscores our commitment to building a stronger, more prosperous economy,” said Professor Lawrence H. Summers, Director of M-RCBG, Charles W. Eliot University Professor, and President Emeritus of Harvard. “We are delighted to welcome the Project on Workforce into the M-RCBG community and look forward to supporting its efforts in research, teaching, and public engagement.”

As it enters its next chapter, the Project on Workforce will continue to serve as a hub for evidence, dialogue, and innovation at Harvard and beyond—advancing practical solutions to build systems that deliver opportunity and upward mobility for workers and learners everywhere.

About the Project on Workforce

The Project on Workforce is an interdisciplinary, collaborative project between the Harvard Kennedy School's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, the Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work Project, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The Project produces basic and applied research at the intersection of the education and labor markets for leaders in business, education, and policy. Our mission is to chart the course for an education and training system of the future that creates more and better pathways to economic mobility. The Project is chaired by David Deming, Joseph Fuller, Peter Blair, and Raffaella Sadun and led by Co-Directors Kerry McKittrick and Nathalie Gazzaneo. The team also includes Research Managers Amanda Holloway and Ariel Higuchi, and Lead Evaluator Matt Snodgrass. More information can be found on the Project website: https://www.pw.hks.harvard.edu/. 

About the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government

The Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government advances the state of knowledge and policy analysis concerning some of society’s most challenging problems at the interface of the public and private sectors. The scope of its work ranges from the local to the global. Drawing on the unparalleled intellectual resources of the Kennedy School and Harvard University, and bringing together thought leaders from both business and government, the center conducts research, facilitates dialogue, and seeks answers that are at once intellectually rigorous and policy relevant. The Center is led by Director Lawrence H. Summers, and Co-Director John Haigh. More information can be found here: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg.