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.
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.
Current Opportunities
There are currently no open calls for external research partners. Please check back at a later time or subscribe to our newsletter for announcements.