NYU Wagner

Methodology

• What impact does race, class, gender, and other markers of difference have on pressing social problems such as poverty, health disparities, immigration, unemployment, and housing?

• How can we ensure the lived experiences and realities of individuals and communities are taken into account when crafting public policies and legislation enacted at the local, state, and national levels?

Together, these two questions drive the research and analysis of the Women of Color Policy Network at NYU Wagner.

All of our research is collaborative and co-produced with our community stakeholders, practitioners, and scholars. We build knowledge from the ground up and from the outside in. The goal of our research and policy analysis is to increase access and relieve disparities for women of color and their communities.

Co-production of knowledge: Here at the Network, co-production of knowledge means that we work alongside communities and practitioners who are directly impacted by a social problem or issue to generate strategies and solutions. Our research questions and inquiries are shaped by the expressed needs of communities and a strong desire to paint an accurate and vivid picture of what is happening in those communities.

By involving and engaging communities and stakeholders in the research and policy-making process, we believe there is stronger chance that individuals and community members will become invested and active agents for change.

Multi-Method Approach: Identifying solutions to complex social problems requires complex research methods and approaches. At the Network, we employ a mixed-method data model, which allows us to supplement survey data with rich qualitative narratives that provide us the opportunity to tell a fuller story and provide context for quantitative findings.