The Tennessee Education Research Alliance is a formal research partnership between the Tennessee Department of Education and Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education. Led by full-time staff and guided by a steering committee and advisory council, the Department and the University have co-created a research agenda that builds a body of knowledge to better position the state to make data-driven and evidence-based decisions. The Alliance conducts independent studies and directs external research to provide relevant and timely information to state policymakers across a variety of topic areas, including early reading, professional learning, and school improvement. Similarly, Tennessee Postsecondary Evaluation and Analysis Research Lab, established in 2017, is a joint effort by the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research, Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development, and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. The lab produces policy-relevant research on higher education and postsecondary.
