NNERPP is a professional learning community that connects its members and the education field with resources and supports to strengthen research-practice partnerships so that they may successfully pursue their goals.
NNERPP was launched in 2016 at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University in Houston, Texas, in response to the need to create a permanent infrastructure for RPP learning and support.
Prior to NNERPP, numerous singular efforts by leaders from several partnerships to convene regularly took place. With NNERPP as a sustainable support system, we help catalyze the ongoing development of individual partnerships and the advancement of the field. Through creating opportunities for shared learning across previously isolated groups, NNERPP eliminates inefficiencies resulting from unnecessary duplication of efforts and is building a knowledge base for how to do RPP work and facilitate the use of research evidence in policy and practice.
Starting out with 16 founding RPP members in 2016, we now have 71 members in the network from all across the U.S., representing a number of different partnership types, research foci, and locations.
NNERPP is made possible by the generous funding provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, and The Wallace Foundation.
NNERPP is also grateful to the Kinder Institute for Urban Research for providing critical operational support.
OUR WORK
We continually refine and expand our services and learning opportunities as the field and the needs of our members change. The NNERPP Annual Forum –the annual gathering of network members, funders, and friends to learn about “all things RPP”– has evolved considerably since the first meeting in 2016, with more nuanced session topics that reflect a deeper understanding of RPPs. Our RPP Knowledge Library provides the most relevant and up-to-date resources from across the web, curated to facilitate learning of education RPPs. We now publish bi-weekly newsletters, our own quarterly magazine NNERPP Extra, and yearly NNERPP Yearbooks. We host monthly members-only webinars, support several Subnetworks, and offer various learning opportunities throughout the year. We also engage with the RPP and education world on social media and share up-to-date job postings from the RPP space.
We share the conceptualization of our work in four main buckets: curate, teach, lead, and broker.
OUR IMPACT
NNERPP would not be what it is today –or even exist, for that matter– if it wasn’t for our wonderful community: The RPPs and RPPers who are part of NNERPP. We highlight some of the activities we undertake together as a community in gatherings, workshops, and publications.
OUR STEERING COMMITTEE AND STAFF
We introduce the NNERPP Steering Committee and the small but mighty NNERPP team.