Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grants

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ACF plans to fund Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grants to support secondary analysis of data collected to rigorously evaluate a collection of career pathways programs. Career pathways programs provide post-secondary education and training organized as a series of manageable steps leading to successively higher credentials and employment opportunities in growing occupations. Programs also provide financial, academic, and non-academic support to help primarily non-traditional students with low incomes enroll and persist in education. OPRE oversees a robust research portfolio evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of career pathways programs including the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) project and the rigorous evaluation of two rounds of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program (more information is available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/career-pathways-research-portfolio). Data from the PACE project and OPRE’s evaluation of the first round of HPOG (HPOG 1.0) are available for secondary analysis through the Child and Family Data Archive (https://www.childandfamilydataarchive.org). Additional data from the longer-term follow-up of PACE and HPOG 1.0, as well as from OPRE’s evaluation of the second round of HPOG (HPOG 2.0) will be made available for secondary analysis on a rolling basis beginning in early 2022. These grants would support rigorous, policy-relevant secondary analysis of these data sets to add to the body of knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of the implementation and effectiveness of career pathways programs. The goals of the Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grants are to: Examine research questions relevant to career pathways programs’ goals and objectives; Augment OPRE's multi-pronged evaluation of career pathways programs by focusing on particular questions relevant to career pathways; Support research to inform, and improve program design, implementation, and performance; and Address issues of current relevance to decision-makers at the local, state, and national levels to inform policy decisions and solutions, particularly those related to career pathways for TANF recipients, and other populations with low incomes. Award funding depends on the availability and continued interest of the government.

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