Deadline: 30-May-22
The Postsecondary Success (PS) team is accepting proposals to engage a research partner that will collect data on the implementation of evidence-based solutions in digital learning, advising and developmental education reform.
The partner will collect information that helps funders, service providers, and institutions better understand the barriers and opportunities to implementing and scaling evidence-based solutions. Specifically, the partner will collect data to illustrate the opportunities and challenges for each strategy in providing equitable value and success for Black, Latino, and Indigenous students and students from low-income backgrounds in higher education.
The Postsecondary Success strategy at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is committed to increasing student success in education after high school and eliminating race and income as predictors of student success. For over a decade, they and their partners have been working closely with a diverse set of colleges and universities seeking to transform themselves to dramatically improve outcomes for today’s students – especially Black, Latino, and Indigenous students and students from low-income backgrounds.
BMGF’s PS team is looking for an entity to conduct research that facilitates learning amongst key stakeholders, including: Solution Network Intermediaries (SNIs), BMGF Solutions Program Officers, institutions and service providers.
Scope
- The PS team has articulated the goal that hundreds more colleges help millions more students obtain high value degrees or credentials while closing gaps in student success by income and race.
- To achieve this goal, the PS team is committed to working with partners to support institutional transformation at scale. BMGF has made investments to build an environment where diverse colleges and universities are supported to work together to learn and implement changes faster.
- To support this work, BMGF has also invested in Solution Networks Intermediaries (SNIs) to promote the dissemination, implementation and improvement of solutions associated with increased student success.
- The Foundation has chosen to focus on Developmental Education Reform, Advising and Digital Learning, as these 3 solutions play complementary roles and involve deep institutional capacity-building that spans the student journey from matriculation to graduation.
Benefits
- The selected entity would serve as a research and thought partner for the SNIs, Solutions Program Officers, institutions and service providers to better understand the implementation of these solutions.
- In this role, the entity will be responsible for co-creating an annual research agenda with the key stakeholders, executing the research agenda, and disseminating findings.
- This includes providing the functions listed below, in addition to being comfortable and flexible with ambiguity as they continue to refine their approach to supporting institutional transformation at scale.
- The research partner will prioritize racial and socioeconomic equity in all efforts to guide the research vision and strategy, and to ensure that all key stakeholders keep racial equity at the center of their strategies and actions.
- Potential research partners should must be able to build relationships with and facilitate data collection in priority institutions (Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Primarily Black Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institution and other Minority Serving Institutions).
Qualifications
- Work with key stakeholders to develop an annual research agenda
- Enable regular and active engagement of all key stakeholders
- Collect data to assess implementation variation of the solution for Black, Latinx, Indigenous students and students experiencing poverty
- Disseminate insights that inform grant making, provision of services and that augment the field’s knowledge of Solution implementation
Requirements
- Deep understanding of the U.S. higher education landscape. A focus on developmental education, digital learning and advising is helpful.
- Racial and socioeconomic equity expertise within the context of U.S. higher education landscape.
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion as evidenced by representative leadership, project staffing, and other organizational leadership (i.e., board or an advisory group).
- Comfort with ambiguity and ability to be agile as the solutions continues to evolve.
- An understanding of market measurement data.
- Experience collecting qualitative and survey data.
- Experience with probability and non-probability sampling.
- The ability to create a culture of, and structures to support, continuous learning for solutions providers and Foundation staff.
- Facilitation in support of productive and learning-forward dialogue.
- Experience developing a learning agenda.
- Ability to build insights that inform grant making.
- Highly effective skills as a communicator, listener, negotiator, problem solver, advocator, and relationship and consensus builder.
For more information, visit https://submit.gatesfoundation.org/prog/solutions_learning_implementation_grant/