History, Mission and Goals
Founded in 1983, the Center for Youth and Communities is one of the nation’s premier evaluation, research, policy, and capacity-building organizations dedicated to preparing young people for education, work and life. Within the Heller School’s mission of “knowledge advancing social justice,” the Center’s ultimate goal is to "make knowledge productive." Specifically, our goal is to improve the quality of education, workforce development, and organizational and community-building systems by combining scholarly research and practical experience in ways that will help policy makers and senior managers successfully address issues of long-term self-sufficiency and quality of life. This blend of theory and practice provides the Center with a unique capacity to make a difference. In all our work, we consider practitioners and policy makers as partners in a practical knowledge-development effort to which we all bring critical strengths, and in which practical solutions to real-world issues are developed through a collaborative, mutually respectful approach.
Over the span of nearly thirty years, the Center has earned a national reputation for quality and effectiveness through its work in all fifty states and in more than 200 rural and urban communities. As a university-based organization, the Center works in partnership with government, foundations, nonprofit organizations, community-based agencies, and private business.
The Center has a professional staff of 14 faculty, scientists, senior fellows and research associates who carry out strategic management consulting, evaluation research, and capacity building projects. The work is guided by three goals: 1) using science-based research to improve the quality and impact of youth programs and policies, including education, workforce development and family support systems; 2) strengthening governance, leadership and management in philanthropy, the nonprofit sector and socially responsible businesses; and 3) developing and using outcome-based planning and evaluation methods to deepen public understanding, strengthen programs, prove the efficacy of particular models and shape policies. The Center’s annual budget of $2.5 million supports a portfolio of more than a dozen initiatives, large and small. The Center Director also chairs the Children, Youth and Families concentration in the MBA and MPP degree programs and teaches graduate courses at the Heller School. This mix ensures a rich exchange of community-academy lessons in both classrooms and communities.
To learn more about the Center please read the Letter from the Director.