Success for every learner is WestEd’s main goal and has been for more than 50 years.

As a national leader in research, development, and service, WestEd takes on the toughest and most enduring challenges in education and human development. With a steadfast commitment to equity, our diverse staff collaborate with everyone from preschool teachers to federal policymakers to reduce opportunity gaps and promote positive outcomes for all children and adults.

As a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, WestEd’s work is rooted in data and informed by research. Our staff work at the local, state, and national levels, providing a range of services — research and evaluation, professional learning, technical assistance, and policy guidance — tailored to the needs of the field and to the context of particular clients.

Our Mission

WestEd — a nonpartisan, nonprofit research, development, and service agency — works with education and other communities throughout the United States and abroad to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults.

Our Core Values

Valuing Research
We draw from and add to the research base in our core areas of work and identify the best available evidence to guide decision-making. We share our findings in ways that are useful and accessible to the field, to inform improvements in policy and practice.

Ensuring Excellence and Integrity
We strive to conduct only the highest-quality work and to be impartial, fair, and ethical in carrying out our work.

Focusing on Equity
We operate with a particular commitment to populations that traditionally have been inadequately served or unfairly treated, aiming to eliminate opportunity gaps and foster equitable opportunities and outcomes through all we do.

Striving for Impact
We seek work that is meaningful and useful, and that leads to positive outcomes and sustainable improvements in education, development, and related fields.

Our History

WestEd’s roots go back to 1966, when Congress funded regional educational laboratories (RELs) across the country to find practical ways to improve the education of our nation’s children. Charged with “bridging the gap between research and practice,” a number of the original RELs grew beyond their initial mandate, developing into successful organizations that expanded their focus beyond just education improvement. Two RELs in particular — the Southwest Regional Educational Laboratory and the Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development — evolved beyond their laboratory roots and merged in 1995 to form WestEd.

In 2016, WestEd celebrated a half-century milestone, marking 50 years of improving learning and healthy development at all stages of life. Visit a timeline of WestEd’s history to see a small sampling of our agency’s accomplishments over the decades, and view our WestEd at 50 video.