About
In February 2017, the William T. Grant Foundation convened a group of education leaders to explore an important issue: how to expand and diversify stakeholder participation in the production and use of research evidence in education policy and practice. Inspired by a chapter, Democratizing Evidence in Education, co-written by Vivian Tseng, Steve Fleischman, and Esther Quintero, the meeting generated a number of important observations:
While efforts to improve the production and use of research evidence in education have made great strides over the past 15 years, the potential for evidence to inform educational improvement is still largely untapped.
The ongoing development of an education system that values equity and excellence depends on the active and informed participation of diverse stakeholders.
Aligning evidence production and use efforts with democratic principles will enable evidence-informed decision making be more inclusive and more responsive to the challenges facing students, educators, families, and communities.
From the meeting, volunteer-led working groups were formed to develop the vision, guiding principles, and strategies contained on this website. In addition, the Funders Learning Group for Using Evidence for Change provided support to build this site and to curate funder resources for it.
In keeping with the evolving way in which these ideas have been developed, stakeholders are invited to become a signatory and share their own ideas with one another about democratizing evidence in education.
The volunteers include:
llene Berman, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Eva Boster Kohlmoos, East End Prep, Nashville, Tennessee
Tracey Brown, Sense about Science
Steve Fleischman, Change Dynamics, LLC
Eve Goldberg, formerly Nellie Mae Education Foundation
Ben Kirshner, CU Engage, University of Colorado Boulder
Jim Kohlmoos, EDGE Consulting Partners
Bethany Little, Education Counsel
Bryan Mascio
Esther Quintero, Albert Shanker Institute
Kim Robinson, The Forum for Youth Investment
Sujie Shin, California Collaborative of Educational Excellence
Vivian Tseng, William T. Grant Foundation
Alicia Wilson-Ahlstrom
The funder-oriented "Resources" section was pulled together with generous support from Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Foundation for Child Development, William T. Grant Foundation, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Overdeck Family Foundation, and Spencer Foundation.