Charter School Research Collaborative
About
The Charter School Research Collaborative brings together practitioners, policymakers, funders, and researchers to fund research on charter schools that is rigorous, actionable, and efficient.
Charter schools have become an increasingly prevalent educational option for students and families across the United States, currently enrolling 7% of all public school students, up from 4% in 2010. Amid this expansion, parents and policymakers alike want to know more about charter school performance. Researchers have conducted rigorous evaluations on the short-term effects of charter schools, but significant knowledge gaps still exist.
The Collaborative disseminates funds to charter school researchers via a competitive funding process, provides technical assistance to funded researchers, hosts events to refine the research agenda, supports new research-practice partnerships, and shares learnings among funders, researchers, and practitioners. The Collaborative’s third request for proposals is now open.
Partner With Us
Are you interested in participating in research but seeking a partner? Blueprint hosts quarterly virtual matchmaking sessions for charter school researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to meet and begin to develop new research partnerships. Sign up for matchmaking
Our partnerships with policymakers, education leaders, researchers, and funders are fundamental to this Collaborative. We value our existing partnerships and are excited to develop new ones as the Collaborative grows.
Education leaders
Blueprint welcomes inquiries from education leaders, policymakers, education nonprofits, charter management organizations, and others.
- Help shape the research agenda
- Participate in a funded research project
- Disseminate research findings in your networks
- Learn how to apply evidence to programs and policies
- Looking for a new research partner? Fill out this form
Researchers
Blueprint welcomes inquiries from both established and emerging researchers interested in studying charter school effectiveness.
- Receive funding for projects aligned with the Collaborative’s research agenda
- Connect to new research partners
- Receive support for conducting lottery-based research (e.g., charter data checklist, charter lottery data intake form, and more to come)
- Looking for a new research partner? Fill out this form
Funders
Blueprint welcomes inquiries from funders interested in supporting this Collaborative.
- Sustaining donor: Donors provide direct support for research grants.
- Regional or topical donor: Donors who designate support toward a specific region or topic.
- Anchor donor: Donors represent a key stakeholder in the Collaborative and are invited to regular progress meetings.
Funded Projects
Frequently Asked Questions
The Collaborative has a competitive request for proposal (RFP) process. The third RFP is now open. Mandatory letters of inquiry are due on February 5, 2025. Information about the RFP process is available on this page. Blueprint considers off-cycle proposals for all three types of proposals under exceptional circumstances—the applicants must face time constraints outside of their control. Off-cycle proposals will face the same scrutiny as proposals submitted during the RFP round and must include a justification for off-cycle submission.
The Collaborative’s research agenda will guide funding decisions. The research agenda has been informed by conversations with more than 100 charter leaders, practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and funders and continues to evolve. The research agenda can be found here.
Related Reading
Thirty years of charter schools: What does lottery based research tell us?
This program is guided by an academic literature review, which synthesizes existing evidence from lottery-based studies of charter schools and discusses areas for future research.
Thirty Years of Charter Schools: What Have We Learned?
Blueprint’s policy brief, “Thirty Years of Charter Schools: What Have We Learned?” summarizes the key findings from the academic literature review.
Research Agenda
Conversations with more than 100 charter leaders, practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and funders led to the development of this agenda, and the collaborative community will continue to help it evolve.
Apply
The Collaborative funds proposals that investigate pressing research questions in the charter school space that can inform policy and practice. The Collaborative’s third request for proposals is now open. Mandatory letters of inquiry are due on February 5, 2025.
Subscribe
Sign up for MIT Blueprint Labs Charter Research Collaborative updates.