Candice Dias, PhD

Dr. Candice Dias is a community engaged mixed methods researcher interested in bridging policy and research to develop solutions for policy relevance. She serves as the Project Director and qualitative Research Scientist for the Philadelphia Economic Equity Project (PEEP) within the Center for Public Service and Policy. PEEP is a research information system employing a longitudinal panel survey and multiple qualitative data approaches to focus on identifying mechanisms of economic hardship and instability within health, education, and job access, to inform the policy development. Dr. Dias also teaches Qualitative Methods for Policy in the MSSP program.

Prior to joining SP2, Dr. Dias led research and evaluation for the Camden Promise Neighborhood initiative. Her work in Camden focused on developing systems to support meaningful analyses and feedback loops to make data accessible and actionable for programmatic stakeholders. Dr. Dias previously worked at the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services on projects including child welfare reporting, TANF and SNAP utilization, and Medicaid provider access. She has extensive experience in applied research and evaluation projects that drive sustainable systems and policy change to support low-income and marginalized communities.

Dr. Dias earned her PhD in Urban and Regional Studies from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and a Master’s in Regional Planning from Cornell University.