Resources

Funders and Partners

Incubating Research Partnerships to Accelerate Policy Innovation

Research partnerships between universities and state and local governments can help communities adopt more effective ways of delivering critically important public goods and services like health, education, safety, clean air and water, and growth-oriented infrastructure.

Multiple funding sources can support these research and evaluation partnerships, including federal grants to state and local governments and philanthropic funds. Yet it is not easy for either government agencies or campus-based researchers to form these research collaborations.

The Policy Innovation Days initiative supports convenings designed to incubate impactful research and evaluation collaborations between SSRC member universities and their state and local government partners.

Policy Innovation Days

Many university offices work closely with state and local government partners. Universities’ many institutional connections with state and local governments provide a valuable opportunity to engage public sector agencies in conversations about their research and evaluation needs, conversations that can lead to funded research and evaluation partnerships. 

The Policy Innovation Days initiative, generously supported by Arnold Ventures, funds SSRC member universities to work with their state and local government partners to co-host events bringing together agency representatives seeking research and evaluation support, and campus-based researchers with expertise in causal policy and program evaluation. Planned in collaboration with state and local government partners and hosted on- or off-campus, Policy Innovation Days offer agencies the opportunity to define their research and evaluation priorities, allow researchers to engage with agencies on questions of data availability and quality, and enable agencies and researchers to incubate potential research and evaluation collaborations. The SSRC will cover up to $30,000 in convening costs per selected institution. Funding is available for event costs including travel, lodging, space rental, and catering.

The SSRC is pleased to invite College and University Fund member institutions to apply for funding to host a Policy Innovation Day, on or off campus, during the 2026/2027 academic year.

Applicants must represent a College and University Fund member institution in good standing that has not previously received funding from the Policy Innovation Days initiative. Events should be designed to be cross-campus, with application and coordination support from a central university office such as the office of the Vice Provost for Research (VPR/VPRI) or similar, that can ensure a broad range of researchers are invited to participate. Events should be held during the 2026/2027 academic year, concluding no later than May 1, 2027.

To apply, please submit a one-page proposal describing a general event concept, including potential departments, institutes, or research to be showcased, and state or local agencies to be invited. Events do not need to be planned before submission, but the proposal should include the name, title, and contact information for an event contact representing a central university office, as well as the names of any colleagues who have already been asked to participate in the planning process. Proposals can be emailed to PolicyInnovation@ssrc.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis; early submission is recommended.

College and University Fund member institutions interested in this opportunity should reach out to PolicyInnovation@ssrc.org with any questions.

EXPLORE MORE AGENDA FUND INITIATIVES