What’s the most meaningful part of your job? There are so many parts of our work in OPRE that give us a sense of purpose, challenge us, and align with our own personal and professional values. For Marie, a core value is inclusive knowledge construction with the goal of improving the way social services work for families and children. For Clare, a key value is ensuring that our research addresses the most critical questions in the field, so that it is most likely to result in improvements in people’s lives.
Among all of our responsibilities in OPRE, perhaps the weightiest privilege is the chance to facilitate the ongoing process of deciding what kinds of learning to fund with taxpayer dollars.
As part of ACF’s implementation of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act , and in alignment with the ACF Evaluation Policy principle of transparency, the OPRE Division of Economic Independence and the ACF Office of Family Assistance have released a joint learning agenda called the Welfare and Family Self-Sufficiency Learning Agenda.
Discover the Welfare and Family Self-Sufficiency Learning Agenda
This learning agenda is a critical tool in our offices’ work to advance knowledge about effectively fostering family economic security, stability, and self-sufficiency. The published version is a “snapshot in time” of a living document designed to help the OPRE Division of Economic Independence and Office of Family Assistance:
- Describe the key focus areas of our work together
- Document what we have learned so far in those focus areas
- Identify questions we might address through future learning activities
- Plan future activities to address those questions
- Communicate the scope of our work and priorities to interested parties
- Engage others and gather input on those priorities
By releasing the learning agenda publicly, we hope to reach two broader audiences. First, we hope to reach other research funders and researchers, both inside and outside of government, to encourage the initiation of research of mutual interest, invite collaboration, share our priorities with those who may bid on solicitations for contracted research and apply for grants, and invite feedback on our learning priorities. Second, we hope to reach the general public, to promote transparency and accountability and to invite feedback on our learning priorities.
Inside the document, you will find:
- An introduction that offers more information about the document’s purposes, uses, structure, and process for initial and continued development as well as an introduction to the topic areas covered
- For each topic area or “workstream,” a summary of what we have learned to date, some remaining gaps in learning, questions to guide future learning activities, and current OPRE Division of Economic Independence projects within the workstream
- An appendix describing our methods and sources of information for developing the document
The publication of this learning agenda is the culmination of a years-long process to gather input from OPRE and OFA staff, review and summarize learning to date, identify knowledge gaps, and develop learning questions. We want to thank the many staff in both OPRE and OFA involved in its development.
In addition, we are excited to share that our offices recently gathered feedback on the learning agenda from a group of people who have lived experience with ACF programs, convened under the OPRE project Advancing Contextual Analysis and Methods of Participant Engagement. This group’s insightful recommendations, as well as input we gather from others, will inform the next iteration of the learning agenda.
Whether you are agency staff, a researcher, a practitioner, someone with lived experience, and/or a member of the public, we welcome your input on the learning agenda. Email us to provide general feedback. To submit completed research for OPRE’s awareness, contact the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse , a systematic evidence review sponsored by the OPRE Division of Economic Independence.
Perhaps it’s too sentimental to call this learning agenda a love letter to our many partners in learning. But we hope that it does convey our deep commitment to doing this work together with others who share our mission, as well as our openness to sharing our current thinking about potential paths forward and inviting you to share yours.
We warmly invite your engagement on this important document and appreciate your continued partnership in building evidence to improve the lives of children and families.