Our Work
The New York City Early Childhood Research Network (Research Network) brings together researchers, policymakers, funders, and others to promote actionable research that will inform public policy for children from birth through age eight. Together, we strengthen relationships, share resources, build knowledge, and inspire action.
The New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute (the Institute) at the City University of New York provides the infrastructure to support the Research Network.
Our History
The Research Network launched in 2015 by the Foundation for Child Development as part of President Obama’s Invest in Us campaign. The Foundation sought to develop a new research-policy-practice partnership that could bring diverse perspectives together to support the continuous improvement of early education in New York City. The Foundation awarded more than $4 million for eight research studies to investigate the implementation of New York City’s PreK for All expansion and an infrastructure award to the Institute. The Institute sustains the partnership by identifying new resources and opportunities to foster collaboration among our participants.
Our Goals
The Research Network builds New York City’s capacity to investigate and inform early childhood policy and practice for young children. We have three goals:
- Attract investments and allocate resources for early childhood research that can inform policy and practice.
- Build relationships among early childhood researchers, policymakers, funders, and practitioners.
- Promote and disseminate early childhood research within the City and nationally.
Our Principles
- We are committed to rigorous research that will inform early childhood policy and practice.
- We believe that various forms of inquiry are needed to understand and improve the implementation of policy and we engage qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods researchers.
- We strive to increase diversity within the research community and encourage participation of researchers and policymakers who are from historically disadvantaged and underrepresented groups.
- We are committed to collaboration and therefore members are expected to actively participate in Research Network activities and share resources.