Harvard Family Research Project's
History & Mission
History & Mission
Harvard Family Research Project was founded in 1983 at the
Harvard Graduate School of Education by its director,
Heather B. Weiss, Ed.D.
For over twenty years, Harvard Family Research Project has helped philanthropies,
policymakers, and practitioners develop strategies to promote the educational
and social success and well-being of children, families, and their communities.
As it guides organizations in planning and assists in problem solving, HFRP
collects, analyzes, and synthesizes research and information to foster continuous
improvement and learning.
HFRP's work strengthens family, school, and community partnerships
and early childhood care and education, promotes evaluation
and accountability, and offers professional development to
those who work directly with children, youth, and families.
The audiences for HFRP's work include policymakers, practitioners,
philanthropists, and concerned individuals.
In its work, HFRP strives to advance knowledge development,
providing training, professional development and technical
assistance, and offer strategies to encourage continuous learning
and promote dialogue. Under this framework, HFRP's goals are
to:
- Develop, test, and communicate methods that promote continuous
improvement and accountability
- Promote diversity, program and system complexity, and
outcomes measurement and attainment through evaluation practices
- Expand and strengthen the professional development base
of those who work directly with children and families
- Provide policymakers, practitioners, and foundations with
research and information to guide them as they fund new
strategies and strengthen existing initiatives
Knowledge Development
As it maps emerging trends, synthesizes existing knowledge,
conducts evaluations, designs learning processes, and disseminates
promising practices, HFRP provides organizations and people
with the research and tools they need to support innovation
and improved performance.
HFRP's regular newsletter, The
Evaluation Exchange, provides a range of evaluation
information and research and offers a forum for dialogue among
policymakers, program practitioners, educators, and evaluators
so they may learn from one another.
Training and Professional Development
Through its educators networks, courses at the Harvard
Graduate School of Education and collaborations with state,
national, and international organizations, HFRP strengthens
the field of professional development by sharing research
findings and promising practices with teachers, teacher educators,
and practitioners.
Technical Assistance
HFRP serves foundations, nonprofit organizations, and public
agencies by designing and implementing evaluations of their
varied initiatives. Through this consulting work, HFRP informs
organizations' strategic planning, facilitates decision-making,
and promotes continuous improvement and accountability.
Continuous Learning & Dialogue
HFRP offers and extensive variety of research publications
meaningful to a range of educators, policymakers, foundations,
and program practitioners. It promotes active and continuous
learning through its website, educators networks, regular
newsletter, and regular participation in online discussions
and listserves.
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