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Spotlight

Coleridge Initiative

The Coleridge Initiative builds public agency capacity to accelerate the effective use of new datasets. It enables multiple local, state, and federal agencies to keep data in separate FedRAMP secure areas in the Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF), linking it for projects as needed. In addition to receiving the 2018 Government Innovation Award, ADRF was also cited as the first Federal example of Secure Access to Confidential Data in the final report of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking.

The Coleridge Initiative’s success relies on two factors: 1) building a low-cost, open-source platform that encourages and facilitates data discovery through rich documentation in the ADRF, and 2) increasing agency capacity to use this platform and execute complex analyses through Applied Data Analytics training. Once scaled, the project is expected to not only expand public agency demand for data-informed and cross-sector decision-making but to also create sector-wide efficiencies by making it easier to access and analyze cross-sector data in the first place.

Overdeck Family Foundation funding supports the scaling of Coleridge Initiative’s training program, which increases public agency capacity to apply modern analytics skills to real-world micro-data. As an early funder of the Coleridge Initiative’s work, we are proud to support this project alongside the Gates Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, among others.

Data for Action

Converting data into insights and outcomes.

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Children looking at a book on the floor. Image provided by Campaign for Grade Level Reading.

Our goal: Harness data to empower the education sector to make impact-driven, cost-effective decisions.

We know evidence generation and usage doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Access to new and siloed education datasets, along with novel research methods, can power the production of evidence and timely learning. Making this evidence useful requires platforms that disseminate and contextualize it for target audiences, including districts, schools, and families.

Our Data for Action portfolio increases education data availability, integration, and utility, with the goal of generating and applying critical insights that improve educational outcomes for children.

Grantee Spotlight

Learn more about some of the work funded by the Data for Action portfolio.

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Coleridge Initiative

Creating a new approach for sharing data across agencies and states.

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Edtech Insiders

Building shared insights into the emerging AI-in-ed landscape

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Edunomics Lab

Promoting more cost-effective investments in public education

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Opportunity Insights

Increasing upward mobility through a cross-disciplinary research lens.

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Urban Institute’s Student Upward Mobility Initiative

Establishing Pre-K-12 skills and competencies critical to economic mobility.

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Our Approach

Expand Access to Data

Increase access to new and existing data that can be leveraged to generate research and inform action.

Our Approach

Develop Novel Research

Leverage big data, innovative methods, and AI to produce novel research.

Our Approach

Support Evidence-Based Decision-Making

Develop resources that inform educators and families based on evidence of impact and cost-effectiveness.

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Our Questions

How can we build access and connectivity between education and other datasets to reveal new insights that improve education outcomes?

How do we leverage scalable platforms and national networks to disseminate and act upon data in local communities?

What forms of information and storytelling enable parents to effectively engage in increasing the quality of learning for their children?

Other Portfolios

Toddler and adult male using crayons. Image provided by Nurse-Family Partnership.

Early Impact

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Two children working on a project on a computer. Image provided by NewSchools Venture Fund.

Innovative Schools

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Inspired Minds

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