Research, Policy, and Practice: The Role
of Research-Practice Partnerships in
Promoting Evidence-Based Decisions
December 5, 2013
@AYPF_Tweets
Today’s Agenda:
Dr. Cynthia Coburn, Northwestern University
Dr. Amy Gerstein, Stanford University,
Executive Director of the John W. Gardner
Center
Dr. Phil Bell, University of Washington,
Director of the UW Institute for Science and
Math Education
RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS:
LEVERAGING RESEARCH FOR
EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT
CYNTHIA E. COBURN, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• William Penuel, University of Colorado, Boulder
• Kimberly Geil, Independent Researcher
WHY DON’T EDUCATIONAL LEADERS
USE RESEARCH?
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•
•
•
Not focused on pressing concerns
Not credible
Not timely or useful
Lack of capacity
RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS
Long-term collaborations between
practitioners and researchers that
are organized to investigate
problems of practice and solutions
for improving system outcomes
RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS:
WHAT DO ADVOCATES SAY?
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•
•
•
•
Increase relevance
Increase credibility
Increase usability
Brings greater expertise to district decision making
Increase organizational capacity to use research
WHITE PAPER
• Commissioned by William T. Grant Foundation
• Reviewed research related to research-practice
partnerships
• Interviewed key leaders across the country
• Conducted case studies on select partnerships
CORE FEATURES
•
•
•
•
•
Focus research on problems of practice
Long-term
Mutualistic
Produce original analyses
Carefully structured and organized
TYPOLOGY OF RESEARCH-PRACTICE
PARTNERSHIPS
• Research Alliances
• Design Research Partnerships
• Network Improvement Communities
RESEARCH ALLIANCES
•
•
•
•
•
Place-based
Primary goal is to inform local policy and practice
Perform research on key policy issues
Develop and maintain data archives
Distinct roles for researchers and practitioners;
collaboration at beginning and end of process
EXEMPLARS
• John Gardner Center for Youth and Their
Communities
• Consortium for Chicago School Research
• Research Alliance for New York City Schools
DESIGN RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
• Place-based
• Co-design and test strategies for improving
teaching and learning locally that also yield
general knowledge about teaching and learning
• Researchers and practitioners engage in
collaboration at every stage of the process
EXEMPLARS
• University af Washington and Bellevue Public
Schools
• MIST, a partnership of Vanderbilt University with Fort
Worth Independent School District and Jefferson
County Public Schools
• Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP)
NETWORK IMPROVEMENT
COMMUNITIES
• Constituted as networks
• Use form of research called “improvement science”
• Focuses on small tests of change and rapid cycles
of research and development
• Roles of researchers and district staff can become
blurred
• Goal is to build capacity, “improve improvement”
EXEMPLARS
• Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching
• BTEN project on teacher effectiveness and retention
• Statway and Quantway, networks for community colleges
addressing developmental mathematics
CHALLENGES
• Researchers and practitioners occupy different
cultural worlds
CHALLENGES
• Researchers and practitioners occupy different
cultural worlds
• Maintaining mutualism
CHALLENGES
• Researchers and practitioners occupy different
cultural worlds
• Maintaining mutualism
• High turnover in district leadership
CHALLENGES
• Researchers and practitioners occupy different
cultural worlds
• Maintaining mutualism
• High turnover in district leadership
• Funding, especially for infrastructure
IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY MAKERS
• Provide funding for partnership infrastructure
IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY MAKERS
• Provide funding for partnership infrastructure
• Consider co-funding researchers and practitioners
IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY MAKERS
• Provide funding for partnership infrastructure
• Consider co-funding researchers and practitioners
• Invest in capacity building
IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY MAKERS
•
•
•
•
Provide funding for partnership infrastructure
Consider co-funding researchers and practitioners
Invest in capacity building
Develop infrastructure for spread and scale beyond
local districts
COPY OF WHITE PAPER
• http://www.wtgrantfoundation.org/publications_an
d_reports/browse_reports/research-practicepartnerships-a-strategy-for-leveraging-research-foreducational-improvement-in-school-districts
• Or email: [email protected]
Research, Policy and Practice: The Role of
Intermediaries in Promoting Evidence-Based
Decisions
American Youth Policy Forum Webinar
December 5, 2013
Amy Gerstein, PhD
Executive Director
John W. Gardner Center
Stanford University
About the Gardner Center
The Gardner Center
partners with
RESEARCH
communities to develop
leadership, conduct
CHANGE
CAPACITY
BUILDING
COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
community-driven
research, and effect
positive change in the
lives of youth
The Youth Sector
SUMMER
PROGRAMS
AFTERSCHOOL
PROGRAMS
FAMILIES
HEALTH
SERVICES
YOUTH
RELIGIOUS
INSTITUTIONS
SCHOOLS
SOCIAL
SERVICES
NEIGHBORHOODS
Deep Partnership is Essential
• Deep partnerships underlie a robust youth
sector approach to community youth
development
• Partnerships build trust
• This is hard work; it takes TIME
Principles and Considerations
• Engage stakeholders at every step of the
process
• Communicate a commitment to using data for
action
• Consider tensions or conflicting purposes
• Cultivate shared responsibility and discourse
• Ensure sufficient capacity – human and
technology
Redwood City 2020 Partnership
GOAL
Support youth
and families and
strengthen
community
KEY PLAYERS
8 public and
nonprofit
organizations
in Redwood
City
OUR ROLE
Since 2000, we
have provided
capacity
building,
research, and
community
engagement
across all
initiatives
YESS Partnership
GOAL
KEY PLAYERS
OUR ROLE
Improve
supports and
opportunities
for youth in
East Palo Alto
33 youth
serving
organizations
convened by
One East Palo
Alto
Serve as data partner
Advise on the
steering and youth
development
committees
Educational Outcomes for Court
Dependent Youth
GOAL
KEY PLAYERS
OUR ROLE
Improve the
educational
success of
courtdependent
youth
collectively
served by
partner
organizations
Child Welfare
Services, foster
youth service
providers,
four school
districts
Link dependency
records to
educational data
to examine the
relationship
between
dependency and
school outcomes
Bridge to Success Partnership
GOAL
Double the
number of
underrepresented
students with a
workplace
applicable
postsecondary
credential by
2020
KEY PLAYERS
Mayor’s Office
brought
together
SFUSD, CCSF,
DCYF, the
Gardner
Center, and
others
OUR ROLE
Support the
initiative via
data analysis
using the YDA
Contributions to the Youth Sector &
Research Community
• Supports efforts to improve youth service &
outcomes
• Advances inter-agency collaboration
• Increases coherence of policy and practice
• Shifts how rigorous research is conceived and
conducted
gardnercenter.stanford.edu
@gardnercenter
Question and Answer