Children and youth in NYC and across the globe have disparate access to opportunities for academic learning, behavioral and mental health, and positive development. Some families face powerful challenges in the systems (justice, welfare, and education) and settings (home, school, and neighborhood) they traverse. Understanding how these challenges exacerbate inequality and, alternatively, how supportive policies and programs can expand opportunities and improve outcomes, hold promise for advancing equity in child and adolescent development.
Partnership among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners leverages complementary expertise toward these goals. The Institute’s approach to partnership is guided by a set of partnership principles; leverages content and methodological expertise among students and faculty + practice and policy expertise among community and policy leaders; and embraces a range of partnership activities. The aim is to (a) create new knowledge of effective policies and practices and their implementation across multiple sectors and settings, and (b) build the capacity to eliminate disparities and foster learning, health, and development for more children and youth in our communities.
Blogs with our Partners
Studying STEM in Sunset Park
IHDSC spoke with Dr. Natalie Brito and Sunset Spark — a Brooklyn-based non-profit— about their partnership, the importance of diverse and representative samples, and the benefit of conducting research in community-based settings.
Partnering to Improve Afterschool
What role can afterschool programs play in addressing inequality and promoting opportunities? The Advancing Collaborative Research in Out-of-School Settings (ACROSS) partnership represents a unique partnership between researchers from The Institute of Human Development and Social Change and Good Shepherd Services. Read a Q&A with Dr. Miranda Yates, Dr. Elise Cappella, and Sophia Hwang.
Research Partnerships: Dr. Dillon & MoMath
Dr. Moira Dillon and Cindy Lawrence, Executive Director of the National Museum of Mathematics, received an IHDSC Seed Award to recruit children for interactive in-museum experiments to investigate how children reason about the general properties of geometric figures. Dillon and Lawrence talk about the process of developing their research partnership.
What Principles Guide Our Work?
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Trust and commitment
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Responsive, bidirectional communication
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Production of actionable, shared knowledge
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Collaborative outreach to diverse audiences
We are Faculty, Students, and Staff with Content Expertise in:
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Education (SEL, school climate, teaching practices, peer relationships, transitions)
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Child development (infancy to early adulthood; social, emotional, physical, cognitive)
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Mental and behavioral health (promotion, prevention, treatment; trauma-informed practice)
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Inequality / equity (economic, racial-ethnic, gender, disability, immigration, language status)
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Juvenile justice (individual to system-level influences, interventions, and outcomes)
… and Methodological Skills in:
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Measurement (survey design, observation methods, reliability and validity)
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Implementation science (fidelity monitoring, quality improvement methods)
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Qualitative & mixed methods (focus groups, coding approaches, data integration)
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Descriptive analysis (longitudinal and subgroup analysis, network methods)
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Causal methods (randomized trials, quasi-experiments, econometric methods).
What Do We Do in Partnership?
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Research and Consultation: Institute researchers partner with policy or practice leaders to conduct original research that answers questions relevant to practice, policy, and science. Research projects are developed and executed by the partnered team and supported by internal or external funding. The Institute also facilitates links between university researchers and agencies for short-term, targeted guidance: e.g., technical assistance on data systems, feedback on curricula or programmatic improvements, advice on measurement methods, or input on research design or dissemination.
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Internships and Training: University training programs provide a path for students to assist partner organizations on ongoing or special projects. Undergraduates may work directly with clients or assist staff with specific activities. Graduate students may contribute a relevant literature review, design a survey or implementation tool, facilitate a small pilot project, conduct quantitative analysis, or translate research for practice.
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Communication and Outreach: The Institute shares engaging information about innovative, research-based activities that come from partner organizations and research-practice teams. Content may include collaborative reports, white papers, policy memos, and/or blogs to be disseminated via our newsletter, social media, or blog.
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Networking and Professional Development: Members of partner organizations are invited to Institute events, e.g., talks, workshops, debates, or film screenings. Events aim to encourage knowledge dissemination and network building as well as future research and action. Partner organizations are eligible to reserve university space for community meetings, staff retreats, or other events relevant to research-practice partnership.
