Policy Development & Advocacy

The Walton Family Foundation supports projects and organizations that are making a positive difference for individuals, communities and the environment through its investment in three focus areas: systemic K–12 education reform, freshwater and marine conservation, and quality of life initiatives in the Foundation’s home region, including the Delta region of Arkansas, Mississippi and Northwest Arkansas.

The Walton Family Foundation has engaged BTW specifically around its policy and advocacy grantmaking efforts within the education reform portfolio. BTW is partnering with the Foundation to develop a framework that clarifies the expectations for its policy and advocacy investments, including specific outcome measures linked to key strategies. In addition, BTW will help create a process and tools to help the Foundation and its grantees measure the impact of their work.

The Advancement Project (AP) employs a signature consensus-building process to support local and state policy development in California.

Since 2008, BTW has increased the impact of AP’s efforts by providing the project with a framework and tools for assessing its progress.

BTW is now evaluating AP’s contribution to more-equitable distribution of state resources for K–12 facilities over the past decade. This information will demonstrate processes and tools that can expand resources for school construction, and contribute to a more equity-focused agenda for school facilities for the most underserved schoolchildren.

The EdVoice Institute for Research and Education hired BTW to focus on the Institute’s efforts to improve how California’s legislators develop and implement state education policy.

BTW is designing and pilot-testing an evaluation plan and data-collection tools, as well as coaching Institute staff as they implement the evaluation.

Ultimately, the Institute will use the evaluation system to track the impact of its programs on legislators and their staff, and to report on its findings in a biannual, BTW-developed “narrative dashboard.”

Justice Matters (JM) uses research and policy analysis, public education campaigns and activism to promote racial justice in California education policy.

BTW was called in to assist JM with strategic planning to inform future efforts to influence education reform. Based on that strategic plan, BTW developed an evaluation plan and data-collection tools that could be seamlessly integrated into JM’s work.

By describing successful activities and measuring progress for reflection and strategy refinement, the evaluation supports JM’s organizational learning.

The Institute for Research on Education Policy and Practice (IREPP) is an independent center housed at the Stanford University School of Education. It conducts multidisciplinary research to improve education policy and practice. IREPP’s aim is to train a new generation of education policy researchers equipped to meet the challenge.

IREPP hired BTW to assess its accomplishments during two years of Hewlett Foundation support and strengthen its transition from start-up to fixture, at Stanford and in the field.

In the course of assessment, BTW helped IREPP identify upcoming opportunities for growth and challenges to its capacity. Our evaluation allowed IREPP to reinforce its mission, establish a greater presence on campus and enhance its role in the field of education research.

The Campaign for College Opportunity was formed to ensure that California’s leaders adopt policies and invest in practices that will meet the state’s economic and social needs. The goal is to increase participation and success in postsecondary education.

In 2009, the Campaign hired BTW to help it better understand its contribution to reform in the state’s higher education systems. BTW worked closely with Campaign staff to articulate a theory of change that aligned strategies and tactics with overall organizational objectives.

BTW developed an evaluation plan with clearly articulated outcomes and indicators that will allow staff to measure progress and, ultimately, overall impact of the Campaign.