The Stanford Graduate School of Education is one of the world’s leading educational research institutions. In recent years, a team within the Stanford GSE funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has convened researchers and practitioners from across the nation to catalyze new conversations and research on broad-access colleges and universities (see here). One clear conclusion of this work has been the great potential embodied in research relationships between universities and broad-access colleges, as they bridge cutting-edge analytic expertise with the rich local knowledge of broad-access education and a deep understanding of the policy environment. The partnership with FHDA has garnered support from a coalition of Stanford players, including GSE leaders, the Center for Education Policy Analysis, and the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities.
Stanford’s Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA)
By uniting nationally recognized scholars in economics, law, political science, psychology, public policy, and sociology, CEPA provides the depth and scale of research needed to affect education policy in meaningful ways. CEPA’s mission includes finding new ways to measure and evaluate what makes a difference in education, advancing change by making research accessible to key stakeholders, and engaging graduate students in rigorous training in education policy evaluation.
Stanford’s John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities (JGC)
JGC has a long history of working in deep collaboration with communities to bridge the gap between research, practice and policy. JGC examines processes and outcomes at multiple levels—including individual (e.g., student), setting (e.g., college), and system (e.g., district) levels—in order to better understand the ways in which these domains are inextricably linked, and conditions that support and hinder change.