|
Our clients and the populations they serve face many challenges and opportunities in today's social policy landscape. Individual workers and firms strive to remain competitive in a global economy that demands "high performance" skills. Schools, youth programs, and families seek strategies for providing young people with the academic knowledge, skills, and sense of civic responsibility that will enable them to make important contributions to their communities and become healthy adults. Low-income families struggle to navigate systems of support to ensure their families' physical and social well-being. This country's growing ethnic and racial diversity requires effective strategies for incorporating diversity within the workplace, schools, and other spheres, and for capitalizing upon diversity as a resource.
Our clients-who range from the federal government to local non-profit organizations-are working to address these challenges and opportunities in an environment of scarce resources and calls for accountability. It is within this context that SPR provides the highest quality research, evaluation, and technical assistance services to support our clients' efforts. We are proud to base our work on the following guidelines:
-
Blend rigor with responsiveness. We are committed to using technically rigorous research methods and standards, while at the same time being responsive to clients' unique contexts and views and willing to tailor our approach accordingly.
-
Translate theory into practice. SPR's practically-oriented findings and recommendations consistently draw upon proven policies and the best knowledge available in the field. Our work draws from the expertise of practitioners and academics alike. While our findings and recommendations are aimed directly at supporting our clients, we also work to disseminate knowledge and build capacity in the broader field.
-
Use an asset-oriented approach to understand vulnerable and diverse communities. We feel that interventions should build upon the strengths of vulnerable and diverse communities, acknowledge and incorporate cultural factors, and focus on equipping communities with the tools needed to successfully improve their socioeconomic condition.
-
Employ multi-level and multi-method research strategies. At SPR, we use varied data collection and analysis strategies to explore a single issue. This approach allows us to provide our clients with a multi-dimensional view of findings and implications at the program, organizational, field and policy levels.
|
