Working with the Colorado Lab as an External Researcher

The Colorado Lab invites external researchers to join us in our mission, focusing on project delivery with state and local partners, enhancing knowledge through peer-reviewed publications, and other forms of scholarly collaboration. We value researchers who embrace our core principles—the Essential Elements.

“When we partner with the Colorado Lab we know our research will contribute to evidence building on issues that deeply impact the lives of Coloradans and that the Colorado Lab will quickly move findings forward to inform programs, policy, and practice.”

Sara Bayless, PhD OMNI Institute

“As an external research partner, I’m excited not only for the opportunity to conduct a rigorous evaluation of a critical mental health service but also for the Colorado Lab’s thought partnership and savvy in activating data to inform policy and practice.”

Marc Winokur Senior Research Scientist and Director, Social Work Research Center, Colorado State University

“The Colorado Lab’s Hub model was respectful of early childhood providers, ensuring they were not inundated with survey requests, which resulted in higher response rates. I value being able to contribute to building a more robust workforce and quality early childhood care system.”

Carrie Germeroth Managing Senior Researcher, Marzano Research

Bridge to the Research Community

Our Essential Element “Bridge to the Research Community” articulates how we collaborate with research and evaluation partners in Colorado and beyond.

  • We believe that mutually beneficial partnerships within the research community are vital to developing proactive, cross-system solutions that meet the priorities of government and community partners.
  • We take a growth mindset and prioritize capacity building within the research community.
  • Our government partners—and the communities they serve—have a wide array of needs and decision-making goals. We build capacity to meet these diverse needs by harnessing a broad base of subject matter and methods expertise through our network of highly qualified researchers and evaluators.

 

As opportunities arise, we connect government partners with the right evaluators, at the right time, for the right project. This looks different depending on project needs and strengths of the external research partner. An external research partner may:

  • serve as a consultant,
  • serve as the lead researcher on a project,
  • co-lead a collaborative initiative with the Colorado Lab team, or
  • contract as an evaluation team under one of the evidence-building hubs.

Across these roles, the external research partner and the Colorado Lab share a commitment to learning together and building the capacity of the research community. This approach enhances decision-makers’ access to a reliable, consistent, and highly skilled evaluation workforce ready to help unlock data-informed solutions that improve the lives of Coloradans.

Check out the Bridge to the Research Community installment of our blog series on the Colorado Lab’s Essential Elements for examples of projects supported by external research partners.

Tell Us About Yourself

If working with the Colorado Lab interests you, we’d love to learn more about you! Share your background, interests, and availability by filling out our external researcher partners questionnaire. We will contact you if and when there are fitting opportunities. Completing the survey means you consent to us contacting you about potential collaborations and sharing your details with government or community partners who need help with evidence-based projects.

 

External Research Partner Questionnaire
Current Opportunities
Past Opportunities

Check out previous announcements in our newsletter to get a sense of opportunities offered by the Colorado Lab.

Learn More

To learn more about our projects and see if you may be a good fit, visit the What We Do page