CPPR celebrates 10 years of service

Since 2013, the Center for Public Partnerships and Research has worked with state agencies, non-profits, community coalitions, and service providers to build a world where families and children can thrive.

Under this large mission, we move and think beyond the purely evaluative to see each partner request or grant opportunity as an instructive step towards greater social innovation. We believe in the vitality, energy, and growth of communities. This clarity of purpose is the heartbeat and throughline to our approach for optimizing the well-being of families and children. After our initial years of addressing specific domains of social services, we recognized the circulatory and dynamic nature between the resources and supports provided by state agencies and other organizations. Our experience as social scientists and data experts gives us the expertise to support our partner’s needs and to be the thought leaders to redefine the vision of what's possible in social services.

We saw the connections, the gaps, and the opportunities. When we created new evaluative tools and services, we wanted our partners in Kansas and other states to see the full picture of their programs and services. And, most importantly, to better see and understand the experiences of communities. We’ve learned that these lived experiences are the crux and junction of where we have the opportunity to catalyze change on a systems level, and in a decade’s time, we have seen the advancement and progress in initiatives in early childhood and education, public health, youth development, and child neglect and abuse prevention.

As we’ve looked back at our work over the past ten years, we are appreciative of the enduring relationships and connections created within the communities where we work and live and beyond. We would not be celebrating ten years of success without the passion and dedication of our partners and the talents and growth of our staff. Our technology and research alone aren’t the solutions—our relationships, collaborations, and collective sense of urgency move the work forward on behalf of children and families. While the challenges and needs of families and children have changed in nuance and scale over time, particularly since the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve stayed decisive and strategic in our optimism. We believe the strength of children and families is the foundation for strong communities, and we look forward to driving our work into the next decade.