Where we end up as adults is often determined by the education opportunities we receive as young children. But which programs do the most good?

The Early Childhood Research & Practice Collaborative brings NORC research scientists together with outside partners to understand how best to improve outcomes for preschool children. Our studies occur in real-world settings and can span years and even decades. The goal: make early childhood care and education more effective and equitable.

Projects conducted by the Collaborative use a holistic view of development and focus on not only the children but also the family, community, and educational contexts in which they grow and learn.

We provide the following primary services to our partners:

• Consultation on organizational strategic planning, program implementation, mixed-methods evaluation, analytics, and data interpretation
• Quick turn-around, small-scale research and analysis projects
• Local needs assessments based on surveys and secondary data analysis
• Facilitation of agenda-driven collaboration among early childhood researchers, practitioners, stakeholders, and policy makers
• Dissemination of research through multiple avenues, tailored to diverse audiences

Through all of its work, the Collaborative fosters connections among researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders to ensure that findings are actionable and relevant.