External Evaluator

Debra Bragg is the external evaluator for the NSF Hidden Innovation project. She works closely with the research team to gather evidence on how the research is evolving to produce new knowledge on the roles technicians play in the innovation economy and economic development. She also evaluates the project’s contributions to understanding how the NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program shapes the nature of technical education work.

 

A four-year evaluation of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Hidden Innovation Infrastructure research project recommends community colleges rethink their role in regional economies, moving beyond workforce training to facilitating broader regional economic ecosystems. Conducted by researchers at Rutgers University, led by Dr. Michelle Van Noy who directs the Education and Employment Research Center (EERC), the project examined how community colleges contribute to regional workforce and economic policies and programs across the U.S., utilizing data gathered primarily from community colleges receiving NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grants.

Primary findings show how community colleges adopt a systemic approach to economic development by considering not only individual student outcomes but collective outcomes associated with the health of entire regional economic systems. To this point, one member of the project’s advisory committee observed,

The HII research was much needed because it shed light on a gap that we oftentimes talk about in different spaces, whether it’s education, whether it’s economic development, whether it’s communities, oftentimes not knowing who should be leading the conversation. This study gives not only examples but a framework, especially with the checklist tool, about how these things can be achieved.

A second advisory committee member highlighted the study’s in-depth descriptions of distinctive roles that community colleges play in regional economic development:

This is one of those topics that is discussed a lot… [and] maybe understood in practice in some places and pockets but there really hasn’t been good language around it… One of the most amazing things is that there is now some language around the economic development role for community colleges. I think people can get a handle on what workforce development is, as that logical role for community colleges, but maybe there’s a misunderstanding that community colleges can even truly engage in economic development. Now there’s conceptualization around what that looks like.

The evaluation results also point to the need for practical tools to help community colleges move from research to action. Experts in this field who were interviewed for the evaluation called for clear frameworks to assist community college leaders to better understand the theory and logic of how their colleges can engage in regional economic development. At the same time, the evaluation cautioned against one-size-fits-all solutions to minimize the complex relationships required to engage in economic development. While common patterns exist, effective practice depends on local context, including knowing how regional labor markets, institutional history, and community relationships work in practice.

Taken together, the HII research project provides thoughtful explanations and useful examples of how community colleges function as essential, though often unseen, players in regional economic development. Their impact lies not only in delivering workforce training, but forging partnerships with  employers, labor, and community organizations. By making these collective commitments visible, this research provides a needed roadmap to enable more community colleges to strengthen regional economies.

Please read the entire final evaluation here.