LETTER FROM OUR CEO
When Clark Abt founded Abt Associates 53 years ago, he established a motivating mission that has guided our work ever since: “to improve the quality of life and economic well-being of people worldwide.” Today, that mission is more important than ever.
As an engine for social impact in a fast-changing world, we are always innovating—always asking “What if?” We are always assessing what we can do better to accomplish our five mission impact goals:
- Economic security
- Good health
- Social equity and empowerment
- Effective governance
- Thriving natural environment
I am pleased to share with you our inaugural Mission Impact Report. It describes how we’re meeting these goals through our work in more than 50 countries, our people and operations and our engagement in communities.
From our pioneering work in measuring the prevalence of homelessness to our public health and environmental innovations in fighting mosquito-borne disease, you’ll see our distinct approaches to making an impact: we create knowledge, we strengthen systems and we improve lives. Our portfolio is broad, and we’re intentional about building impact into the design of our programs and measuring it.
We know it’s not enough to have an impact only through our work. It’s also about ensuring our operations are aligned with our mission impact goals and actively advancing those goals in our communities. In practice, it’s about making health and wellness central to our employee experience, decarbonizing our company by 2050 and supporting staff who volunteer their time and talent to improve the communities we work in.
All these efforts have sustainability at their core: Sustainable models for better health. Strong governance systems to sustain economic progress. Significant reductions in our own GHG emissions and resource use. Seeing a child read with confidence. And so much more, as you’ll see in the pages that follow.
The opportunity to have an impact is why we joined Abt Associates. Our efforts move people from vulnerability to security worldwide. It’s what we’re all about. Every single day.
All the best,
Kathleen Flanagan
President and Chief Executive Officer