To help welcome 2025, I am headed to the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) conference and will join researchers, policymakers, and community members in affirming our commitment to Strengthening Social Impact through Collaborative Research. We need this theme as we traverse paths of unshifting isms yet shifting times. Collaborative research offers an opportunity to work through differences to create futures that dance with new shapes and patterns.
At the William T. Grant Foundation, we are deeply committed to collaborative research. We believe it illuminates more nuanced understandings of individual experiences, youth-serving systems, and alternative structures for celebrating and supporting children. Collaboration also enables access to research, thoughtful sensemaking, and meaningful use of the knowledge produced. Collaborative research is resource-rich yet requires considerable time and intention.
Our Foundation supports collaborative research in varied ways. We award grants to conduct research and measurement work on the use of research evidence and how structures, resources, and power dynamics within collaborations affect research use and youth outcomes. We support collaborative research aimed at reducing inequality in youth outcomes. We also have a call for proposals to advance institutional change that better recognizes and rewards collaborative research within universities. In addition, we host a website that provides resources for those wanting to start and nurture research-practice partnerships.
If you are attending SSWR and want to learn more or share an idea, I am happy to connect. I am also joining the special interest group session on the National Research Agenda for a 21st Century Child Welfare System scheduled for Friday afternoon. See you in Seattle.
Wishing you peace in the New Year.
Kim
