The Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Community Outreach, Research, and Evaluation (CORE) at Penn State Behrend and the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) at Penn State have formalized a collaboration to better support research across the University.
The partnership will enable CORE to expand all aspects of its research support and program evaluation services and help guide Penn State research teams in making data-driven informed decisions.
CORE was established in 1998 to provide outreach service and program evaluation to schools and community organizations. In recent years, CORE has broadened its vision and services to reduce risk factors for youth and communities, providing training, mentoring, program evaluations and data analysis. CORE provides in-depth program evaluation, grant writing, logic model development, focus groups, data collection and analysis, and survey design. Now, as CORE joins SSRI as a research service unit while retaining its foundational footprint at Penn State Behrend, it will further its reach in these areas across the commonwealth.
“I am thrilled to see this new partnership flourish and for CORE to become a part of the SSRI research infrastructure,” said Deborah Ehrenthal, director of the SSRI. “Their expertise in evaluation complements the outstanding data collection and survey resources of the SSRI’s Survey Research Center. Moreover, their deep experience working with communities brings an evaluation lens well-aligned with the SSRI goals of public impact research and will support the work of the new SSRI Community-Engaged Research, Action, and Partnerships (CERAP) unit.”
The addition of CORE will enable SSRI to broaden their efforts and provide end-to-end research support services across Penn State, Ehrenthal explained.
“This collaborative partnership will enable us to expand our support beyond Behrend to support faculty across University Park and the Commonwealth Campuses,” said James Hodge, director of CORE and assistant research professor of psychology at Penn State Behrend. “We can support faculty conducting research and provide data analysis and program evaluation as part of a grant proposal or for an existing project.”
According to Andrew Read, senior vice president for research at Penn State, this partnership strengthens the connections across Penn State, making it easier for all researchers to access expertise and support wherever they are located.
“The partnership also creates new opportunities for cross-campus collaboration and helps ensure that the University’s research resources and capabilities are working together to advance impactful research,” Read said.
Alicyn Rhoades, vice chancellor and associate dean for research and graduate studies at Penn State Behrend, also emphasized how the partnership will broaden research impact.
“This is an opportunity to leverage CORE’s expertise in program evaluation and data analysis to enhance the public impact of faculty research,” Rhoades said. “CORE also will serve as the lead evaluator for SSRI’s five-year strategic plan, which will shape interdisciplinary collaborations across the commonwealth in the years to come.”
SSRI enables and facilitates research that addresses critical human and social challenges at the local, national and international levels. The institute supports faculty positioned within 14 colleges across 13 Commonwealth Campuses via various funding mechanisms.