Frequently Asked Questions

How long has WestEd been in existence and what is your history?

Our agency�s origins stretch back to 1966 when Congress created a network of Regional Educational Laboratories, two of which joined in 1995 to become WestEd. We continue to serve the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah as one of the nation�s ten regional laboratories. While our regional, REL work remains central, WestEd now works throughout the United States and internationally.

Is WestEd a nonprofit or for-profit organization?

WestEd is a nonprofit research, development, and service agency. The agency is a Joint Powers Agency, authorized and governed by a number of public entities in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah, with Board members representing agencies from this four-state region and nationally.

Is your agency a partisan organization?

No, we are a staunchly nonpartisan agency using research to address the complex challenges of education and human development.

What is your mission?

WestEd is a nonprofit research, development, and service agency that works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults.

What are your long-range goals/vision?

Success for every learner is our goal at WestEd. We seek to reach this goal by working with education communities to improve opportunities for all students to succeed and improving human systems so that all people have the opportunity to learn, grow, and achieve. Although this goal is ambitious, we believe it to be within reach.

What makes you different from other nonprofit, R&D, or social service agencies?

WestEd's goal of success for every learner is ambitious. As such, our work and services are broad in context, encompassing many fields. Through resources, services, programs, and projects, we address many issues in human development, from birth to senior care, and in education, from pre-service into the world of work. In addition, WestEd focuses on disseminating relevant, research-based knowledge targeted to the needs of key audiences. We believe the depth, diversity, and history of our work, coupled with our extensive on-the-ground experience and focus on using research-based knowledge, gives WestEd a particular expertise in helping others.

Where are your headquarters and how many offices does the agency have?

Our headquarters are located in San Francisco, California, and we have 16 offices throughout the United States.

Who heads your agency? How is the agency governed?

Glen Harvey serves as our agency�s Chief Executive Officer and our agency leadership includes executive, program, and administrative staff.

Our agency is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of leaders from public and private education, business, and public service communities throughout the United States. With over 45 members, our board is an exceptionally diverse, experienced, and dedicated body. Board members effectively represent key stakeholders — educators, business leaders, state officials, and community members — throughout the nation with insight into their varied concerns, issues, and opportunities. The board meets quarterly and takes an active role in agency leadership and strategic planning.

WestEd Governance Policies adopted by the Board of Directors can be found here.

How are you funded?

From the federal government to local school districts, universities to private foundations, WestEd has approximately 350 funding sources that make our work serving schools, families, and communities possible. Our wide base of funding sources ensures that we are able to address the toughest and most enduring challenges of education and human development.

What is your annual revenue?

Our agency revenue in fiscal year 2007 was more than $100 million.

What are Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) and why are they important?

Each federally funded Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) serves one of ten distinct geographic regions in the country. RELs work to develop the best knowledge from research and practice into useful services, tools, and other resources to support those involved in education improvement at the local, state, and regional levels.

With support from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (formerly the Office of Educational Research and Improvement or OERI), the laboratories work as vital partners with state and local educators, community members, and policymakers in using research to tackle the difficult issues of education reform and improvement.

Congress implemented the concept of Regional Educational Laboratories as a national resource for local and state benefit over three decades ago under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. While each laboratory has distinctive features tailored to meet the special needs of the geographic region it serves, the laboratories also have common characteristics. Guided by a governing board representing stakeholders in its region � educators, business leaders, state officials, and community members � each laboratory's work is shaped by the concerns, issues, opportunities, and special attributes of its region.

Who are your clients?

Our clients include national and state government, education and health agencies, local school districts, national educational associations, community and family foundations, small businesses, and other nonprofit research and service firms.

How is your work organized?

Our many areas of work are organized by program:

Program directors work with project directors to capitalize on and develop staff expertise. Staff members may focus their work in one project or may contribute to several related projects. WestEd currently houses over 700 projects.

What are WestEd�s primary areas of work?

Our work is focused in the following areas:

How many staff members work at WestEd and what are their areas of expertise?

WestEd has over 500 staff in 16 offices nationwide. Our diverse staff offer a wealth of expertise and experience. Among their specialties are educational assessment and accountability; early childhood and youth development; program evaluation; community building; and policy analysis.

Does the agency concern itself only with issues of education?

We recognize the lifelong and interrelated qualities of learning and healthy human development. For that reason, we focus not only on what goes on in school, but also in early childhood; in children�s homes, after-school programs, and communities; in the training and development of those who teach, guide, and/or care for our children; and in legislatures and other decision-making bodies whose policies touch all of these areas.

What types of community work does WestEd do?

WestEd works within various communities to test, evaluate, and implement institutional changes that improve education, health, and human development. Examples of our community work include working with court systems to improve referral methods for abused children, drug abusing parents, and parenting classes for families; evaluating the efficacy of new programs that serve immigrant families, and, in one community, collaborating with local service agencies to broker and focus multiple resources on improving community conditions. In all, WestEd helps mobilize communities toward positive change.

What types of products and resources do you offer?

WestEd publications and other products vary from books, newsletters, and research briefs to videos, CD-ROMs, and online tools and reports. We maintain a deep backlist and publish new products quarterly. These resources reflect the knowledge and expertise developed by our programs and staff in the fields of education and human development.

Do you have a newsletter or regular email that I can receive?

Yes, we have a number of ways for you to receive information and news from us. Please visit Stay Informed to receive our monthly email newsletter, resource catalog, and R&D Alert®, our award-winning newsletter covering issues affecting America's schools. All are free of charge.

What services do you offer? To whom?

At the heart of our work are the services we provide in bringing learning opportunities, consulting, and technical assistance to our clients in education and human development, including educators, school, district, and state administrators; and community agencies. We offer services, some lasting one day, some extending over time. We can help you evaluate distance learning, assess students� science understandings, develop mentoring programs, improve your programs for English learners, or learn about resiliency, algebra, bullying, small schools, backward mapping, home visiting, etc. For a complete list of the services we offer, please visit Services.

These on-the-ground services are an important way for us to disseminate the research and best practices knowledge continuously developed across our agency and, equally important, to gain new knowledge from practitioners in the field.

Are you a grant-making institution?

No, WestEd does not provide grants.

How can I apply for a job at WestEd?

WestEd welcomes job applicants and provides an online listing of all open positions. We encourage applicants to submit employment applications online.

What are you doing to help agencies meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act?

WestEd provides a variety of support, services, and products to help states, districts, and schools meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). WestEd offers technical assistance and development expertise in the creation and implementation of standards, assessments, and accountability. We provide technical assistance and professional development to help turn around low-performing schools and districts. Our products and services help schools meet challenging standards in reading, math, and science, as well as strategies to meet diverse learning needs, including those of English learners and special education students. WestEd products support local efforts to meet the NCLB school choice and charter school provisions. What�s more, we provide services to support the evaluation of programs to ensure that states, districts, and schools use data to continuously improve their programs and practice.

Are you involved in partnerships?

Just as the range of WestEd's work is broad, so is our list of partners extensive. We work with universities, school districts, community-based institutions, research organizations, states, private industry, and many other agencies, organizations, and companies. The expertise and resources of our partners are an invaluable asset in helping us test and implement new and innovative ideas for improving school climate and health and well-being of children and families. A list of funders and some of our partners is available in Funding Sources.

To whom do you disseminate the results/impact of your work?

Though each WestEd project is tailored to a specific purpose and audience, many audiences benefit from our research and evaluated experience, including: federal and state governments, schools and school districts, state office and education departments, universities, teacher training programs, local organizations, and the general public. Our Impact includes features and testimonials that demonstrate results and impact of our work. As well, through print and electronic products, WestEd disseminates relevant, research-based knowledge targeted to the needs of audiences.

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