Our Expertise

Collaborative is at the forefront of current education and learning issues. We have a rich and deep history working on preK-20 learning issues at the local, state, and national levels.

For more than 18 years, we have worked with educators, policymakers, advocates, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, philanthropies, and community leaders to improve public education and drive changes needed to ensure that all children have access to high-performing public schools and learning opportunities.

Government agencies have direct access to Collaborative Communications’ services through the General Services Administration (GSA) Scheduled Program. Our contract number is 47QRAA20D0040. For more information about our services and rates, please contact us at government@collaborativecommunications.com or (202) 986-4959. Collaborative is active on the GSA Professional Services Schedule.

Collaborative facilitates dialogue about the immediate and long term value of social and emotional learning for youth both during the school day and in afterschool and summer learning programs. Our work is grounded in a deep understanding of multiple SEL frameworks and impact evaluations. We understand the need to convey the importance of social and emotional competencies, such as empathy and self-awareness, while balancing the potential sensitivities of these discussions in some communities.

In Our Client’s Words: “Outcomes of our work made our project more accessible to parents.”

Collaborative brings a deep understanding about the role of assessment in transforming learning and the systems that support it. We support efforts to contribute to a national dialogue about the power of assessment to support positive learning outcomes for all students. We help states and organizations understand and communicate about assessments and accountability systems across an array of key stakeholders.

In Our Client’s Words: “Collaborative’s strength is their unique education and national perspective on K-12 issues. Their staff is knowledgeable of both the education landscape and communications – and has numerous insights on the partner spaces.”

Collaborative is a recognized leader in working with networks and intermediaries across the country to build partnerships and support the growth of effective afterschool and summer learning programs. In particular, we coordinate the 50 State Afterschool Network, manage learning communities among networks, facilitate cross-state convenings, and create products that actively support the ongoing vision to achieve the goal of creating systems to better support student learning.

In Our Client’s Words: “There are no firms similar to Collaborative.”

Collaborative has partnered with philanthropy, networks, ecosystems, and education advocates to highlight the importance of high-quality STEM learning opportunities that provide young people with hands-on activities, deep-learning experiences, and opportunities to explore. Through innovative competitions, engaging collateral, and coalition building, among other strategies, we have worked to increase awareness and support for STEM education both in and out-of-school among educators, policymakers, and the general public.

In Our Client’s Words: “A key strength is consistent, high-quality execution – meetings, communications, coaching, deliverables were all excellent.”

Collaborative is an award-winning expert in rethinking and redesigning how student data are presented in ways that are accessible, appealing, and actionable for students, educators, parents, policymakers, and the public at large. We are recognized nationally for our knowledge in translating complex education data for wide audiences.

In Our Client’s Words: “I value the way the Collaborative team responds to the conditions we present them with, whether we have a great deal of specificity or we want to talk through something at the conceptual level and be led through the fundamental creative processes.”

Collaborate works with intermediary and impact organizations to take strategic action to realize a community wide vision for its children, youth, and families. Not only do we bring extensive experience nurturing and developing diverse action-focused networks of policymakers, practitioners and citizens, but we also have an understanding of the importance of sharing stories of impact in clear, but illustrative language.

In Our Client’s Words: “The most successful part of our work was project planning on a timely basis and ensuring expectations were constantly re-evaluated based on arising issues and politics.”