Strategic research, policy and legal expertise are critical components to advancing both CPD-driven national campaigns and local affiliate-driven campaigns in communities across the country. From highlighting the experiences of our communities to identifying policy solutions to reverse historic inequities, strategic research can facilitate the organizing and action needed to win real change.

Most recently, we partnered with CPD affiliates to release an aggregate community impact survey that explores how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting immigrant families in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and North Carolina, a policy brief that explains how we can successfully cancel rent and mortgages, and a local community impact survey that details how Connecticut’s Latinx and immigrant communities are being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. You can read more about each of these issues and many others here. 

In addition to physical research outputs, we are working with our affiliates to enhance strategic research across the network. At the start of the year, CPD’s team of researchers launched a facilitated learning community that brings together affiliate staff from across our network who conduct research as part of their work. From Delaware to Texas, Montana to Vermont, these network leaders represent researchers with years of experience doing strategic research to organizers who are new to research who come together to build community and skills through training and discussions. At least once a month, these minds convene discussions around survey development, analyzing and administering survey data, using large public databases, power mapping, and much more.