Better evidence. Stronger programs. Students who deserve both.
A nonprofit working alongside the educators, researchers, and advocates serving vulnerable students in K–12 and higher education — through applied research, evaluation, free public resources, and partnership.
There are four ways to work with us. Pick the one that fits.
Use a free resource
Literature reviews, practitioner guides, and data briefs. CC BY‑NC. Citable. No signup, no paywall.
Contract our services
Program evaluation, applied research, and grant writing & technical assistance — scoped to your context.
Partner on a grant
Bring HLL in as a co-investigator, evaluator, or fiscal partner on federal, state, or foundation proposals.
Support the mission
Tax-deductible giving that funds the free public resources the rest of this work depends on.
Three populations the system was not designed to serve.
- Foster youth, K–12 through collegePlacement instability, disrupted credit transfer, absent adult advocacy — the trajectory issues no single school can solve alone.Resources for foster youth →
- First-generation college studentsBrilliant students navigating institutions without the inherited knowledge or networks continuing-generation peers take for granted.Resources for first-gen →
- International students in English-medium universitiesSystemic and linguistic barriers, not intellectual ones — in institutions never designed with them in mind.Resources for international students →
Use a free resource.
Evidence-based publications and growing. Every resource is freely available under CC BY‑NC with a stable canonical URL and citation metadata. No signup wall, no email gate.
Contract our services.
Three engagement types, each scoped to context. Every engagement is led by Genevive Bjorn, Ed.D., and brings the methodological rigor of peer-reviewed research to applied settings where the findings need to be defensible and useful.
01 Program Evaluation
Rigorous, mixed-methods evaluations of educational programs, student support services, and institutional initiatives — for grant reporting, accreditation, or strategic decision-making.
Example: 3-year evaluation of a campus foster-youth retention program for a state university.
Inquire about an evaluation
02 Research Partnerships
Collaborative applied research that answers the questions your institution actually needs answered — co-designed, co-authored, and built for use, not the file drawer.
Example: Qualitative study of first-gen sense of belonging at a regional state system.
Discuss a partnership
03 Grant Writing & TA
Technical assistance from an organization that has been on both sides of the grant table — proposal development, narrative work, logic models, and post-award reporting.
Example: ED grant proposal narrative and evaluation plan for a community college consortium.
Request grant-writing TA
Partner on a grant.
If you’re writing a proposal that needs an external evaluator, a research partner with K–12 and higher-ed expertise, or a 501(c)(3) fiscal partner for a community-based component — we may be the right fit.
Recent fits include
- Federal grants requiring an external evaluator with mixed-methods experience
- Foundation proposals on foster-youth educational continuity
- State-level postsecondary equity initiatives requiring research design
- Cross-institutional collaborations needing a neutral data steward
Active funders in our network: U.S. Department of Education, state higher-education agencies, regional & community foundations, and university research offices.
Support the mission.
Higher Learning Lab is funded by donations, grants, and contract services — not by the students and communities we serve. Your gift directly underwrites the free public resources the rest of our work depends on.
“Educational systems were not designed to serve every student equally. Higher Learning Lab works to change that — through research that surfaces what’s broken, evaluation that measures what’s working, and resources that give educators and advocates something they can actually use.”
Tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Higher Learning Lab is a 501(c)(3) public charity. EIN 99-2223618.