Center for Social Policy in Practice

Center for Social Policy in Practice
people sitting around a table


The Center for Social Policy in Practice (SPiP) is the Carsey School’s applied social research hub. At SPiP, we’re driven by the belief that policy has the power to close gaps by channeling resources to where they’re needed most. Yet we know that policy solutions aren’t one-size-fits-all; that’s where our expertise comes in. We put our data skills to work collaborating with partners who want to understand the gaps left by existing policy and test solutions meant to reach people and places that are too often excluded. With a foundation of strong academic credentials, deep local roots, and a robust network of New Hampshire and New England-serving partners, we’re well-positioned for impact. From bolstering early childhood education systems to improving access to local foods to tackling poverty, we’re attuned to the gaps and equipped with the tools to test what works.

Projects in the Works
  • With support from the Couch Family Foundation, the Carsey School is establishing a new Early Childhood Education Research Consortium. 
  • By combining data from dozens of sources, we’re testing a new approach to measuring child care supply and demand that can offer states more specific goalposts as they strengthen and stabilize their early childhood sectors. 
  • A research and evaluation project with Maine’s John T. Gorman Foundation, assessing the impact of their grantmaking on disrupting poverty through a two-generational approach. 
  • Two USDA-funded projects with the UNH Food Systems Lab to identify how to make local farm foods more accessible to New England consumers. 

Staff

Contributors

New Hampshire Preschool Development Grant Project

The New Hampshire Preschool Development Grant (PDG) is a federally funded $26.8 million collaboration between the University of New Hampshire’s College of Health and Human Services, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, and the New Hampshire Department of Education. The PDG aims to build New Hampshire’s early childhood serving systems to improve coordination across systems, better address the needs of disadvantaged children, and create a foundation of improved early childhood outcomes across the state. 

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