This paper describes the development of an innovative, university-based centre to advance the translation of education research to practice. The Center for Evaluation, Research, & Policy (CEPR) was conceptualized by two university researchers with a vision to advance the translation of basic research into results that directly benefit persons and societies. The centre’s development was grounded in the belief that education practice across multiple domains (e.g., P-12 schools, higher education, workforce development) is strengthened through both an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary framework, and a collaborative model that systematically engages stakeholders.

Unlike many centres that are housed within Schools of Education, CEPR was developed organizationally as a university-wide centre to leverage the expertise of multiple, diverse academic disciplines and professional specializations in addressing education’s most challenging and critical issues. The centre uses an operational model that allows CEPR methodological experts in research, evaluation and policy to leverage the academic content expertise of faculty at a large, research-intensive university. Actively engaging faculty across multiple disciplines (e.g., sociology, economics, business, public health) has increased both the innovation and effectiveness of the centre’s work.

Positioning CEPR as a university-wide, transdisciplinary centre has also increased the breadth and diversity of our research, evaluation and policy work. As a university-wide centre not specifically affiliated with a School of Education, the centre has successfully developed a broad portfolio of translational research projects that extends beyond education within early childhood, K-12 and postsecondary education contexts. For example, CEPR’s portfolio includes evaluation and research related to workforce development, public health education, education within criminal justice contexts, and the use of AI with aging populations and people with dementia.

Two other conceptual frameworks have also contributed to CEPR’s successful implementation of high-quality, high-impact translational research, evaluation and policy work that address real-world problems. First, the centre uses a collaborative evaluation and research model that prioritizes stakeholder engagement. This model increases the validity and meaningfulness of the research and evaluation for stakeholders, thereby increasing the usefulness of the findings for informing future real-world policy and practice. Second, the centre developed a systematic framework for interlinking evaluation and policy that challenges the practice of evaluation and policymaking remaining relatively independent domains. CEPR’s approach uses a framework that leverages the interplay and connectivity between the domains of evaluation and policy from both a theoretical and practical perspective.

This paper will describe the development of our centre that within a short span of five years has achieved a strong reputation for high-quality and meaningful translational research. The paper will describe conceptual frameworks and organizational models that have allowed CEPR to be successful, discuss challenges and obstacles encountered, and illustrate best practices and lessons learned in developing a university-wide centre that advances the translation of innovative research to education practice across multiple contexts.

Keywords: Centres, research, evaluation, policy, education.