The science of development is a powerful source of fresh thinking about how to increase opportunities early in life for all children. Using current best practices as a starting point, the Center is working with a network of researchers, practitioners, and community members to design, implement, and evaluate innovative, science-based practice models that achieve transformational change for vulnerable children and families.
These key concepts represent the foundational elements of our approach to science-based innovation. They explain how we are utilizing the science of early childhood development to create new strategies that transform the lives of vulnerable children.
This section includes examples of projects within the Frontiers of Innovation portfolio, with details about their theories of change, activities, and what we have learned from them so far.
Frontiers of Innovation (FOI) is the Center’s R&D Platform, designed to accelerate the development and adoption of science-based innovations that achieve breakthrough impact at scale. Launched in 2011, FOI employs a structured but flexible framework that facilitates idea generation, development, implementation, testing, evaluation, and rapid-cycle iteration. This process is grounded in science and supported within a growing community of change agents who are committed to shared learning, cumulative knowledge, and transformative child outcomes at the population level.
In order to achieve breakthrough outcomes that can be scaled for population-level impact, a new approach is needed which requires a structured but flexible model that facilitates idea generation, development, implementation, evaluation, and fast-cycle iteration. The IDEAS Impact FrameworkTM provides that approach by expanding on existing research and program development methods to set a new bar for program development and evaluation.