Introduction
In August 2013, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Education Program engaged ORS Impact to conduct a cluster evaluation of its advocacy work.1 The evaluation aimed to illuminate opportunities relevant to the Deeper Learning portfolio’s role and influence in the education advocacy and policy landscape. Findings offer actionable insights and raise strategic questions that can inform the Hewlett Deeper Learning team’s decision making.
Findings presented in this memo are based on 27 interviews, which ORS Impact conducted in September and October of 2013. Interview respondents included representatives from nine Deeper Leaning grantee organizations (n=13) and key informants at the federal (n=5) and state (n=9) levels, specifically California, Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin, who could shed light on the education advocacy and policy landscape. Given interviews were conducted with a subset of grantees and in many cases, mid-grant, feedback is intended to be directional.