A Preview of Our Expand Opportunity Portfolios
Our Expand Opportunity strategy includes three portfolios that focus on the creation and expansion of high-quality postsecondary education and workforce training opportunities that are accessible, flexible, affordable, and result in economic mobility. These portfolios focus on identifying and expanding effective sectoral training programs; helping more learners complete effective apprenticeships; and creating more opportunities for incarcerated learners to pursue postsecondary credentials that lead to meaningful careers on the outside. To do this, we invest in innovation and evidence building about what works and under what conditions, along with efforts that strengthen supportive policies, data systems that help make outcomes clear, and sustainable funding models.
Contact Us with Questions About the Expand Opportunity Strategy Portfolios
Maryann Rainey, Senior Program Officer, about the Sectoral Training portfolio.
Brittany Corde, Senior Program Officer, about the Apprenticeship portfolio.
Molly Lasagna, Senior Strategy Officer, about the Postsecondary Education in Prison Portfolio.
D’Wayne Bell, Senior Learning and Impact Officer, about research and evaluation grantmaking related to all three portfolios.
Scale Effective Sectoral Workforce Training Programs
With nearly 17,000 providers offering workforce-oriented training programs in the U.S., there are many options for learners who want to reskill or upskill (Source: Harvard Kennedy School). However, only some of these programs are aligned with labor market opportunities and needs, and not all deliver tangible economic and career outcomes for learners (Source: Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce).
Ascendium seeks to identify which sectoral programs work and why by supporting the evidence building of grant partners like MDRC and the scaling of programs with strong outcomes like those offered by Project Quest, while further investigating promising programs. We want to significantly increase the number of quality sectoral training providers delivering effective programs, as well as increase the number of learners experiencing success and economic mobility through those programs. Additionally, we are interested in particular contexts in which effective sectoral training programs are currently less available and/or more difficult to implement, such as in rural communities and prisons.
Our grant to MDRC is an example of our effort to build evidence about what makes sectoral training programs effective. MDRC’s Sector Training Evidence Building Project (STEP) is supporting high-quality research projects led by nonprofit organizations to produce relevant evidence for individual training providers and the field at large. STEP grantees will build evidence on how to implement or expand access to effective programs and assess the effectiveness of programs that have not been rigorously evaluated.
In addition to this foundational evidence building work, we continue to invest in established sectoral training partners and support community colleges and early-stage nonprofit providers in designing and delivering new programs in new sectors, new geographies, and for new populations of learners.
However, well designed programs aren’t enough for success at scale. Supportive policy, sustainable funding models, data that supports good decision-making, and high quality technical assistance are all needed for programs to be successful. Because of this, we are also investing in efforts to create the conditions for programs to foster learner success at scale.
Types of Questions We’re Asking in This Portfolio
What sectoral training models improve participants’ employment and earnings? What are the key components that drive the effectiveness of those programs?
In what ways are effective sectoral training programs replicated and scaled to serve significantly more learners?
What funding models support the longer-term sustainability of scaled, effective sectoral training programs within public postsecondary institutions and nonprofit providers?
Accelerate Implementation of Effective Apprenticeships
There are worker shortages in many high-demand fields such as technology, nursing, and manufacturing. In fact, the U.S. has over 600,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs, and by 2030, it’s predicted the country will be short over 500,000 nurses (Source: Federation of American Scientists). These jobs are ripe for apprenticeship opportunities, which offer learners earn-and-learn opportunities that can lead to a good job without requiring a college degree. Yet, they remain underutilized compared to higher education and other training programs due to systemic limitations to program expansion. Completion rates also tend to be low, especially for Ascendium’s prioritized populations of learners who may also face difficulty accessing apprenticeship opportunities.
A recent grant to Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership | Building Industry Group Skilled Trade Employment Program’s (WRTP | BIG STEP) Apprenticeship Pathway Coalition Initiative broadens the scale of apprenticeable career opportunities in Wisconsin. The organization is creating industry coalitions and expanding apprenticeship pathways in construction, manufacturing, and emerging sectors. This initiative also focuses especially on communities that have not historically had many apprenticeship opportunities, including rural areas of the state.
In addition to supporting intermediaries like WRTP | BIG STEP, we make grants to support innovative apprenticeship models in emerging industries — such as teacher apprenticeships — and evaluations to continue to build evidence of effectiveness. We monitor state and federal policy as it shapes apprenticeship expansion across the U.S. and acknowledge the importance of addressing entrenched narratives about who apprenticeships are for (or not for), and why. Finally, we know better data systems are necessary to improve outcomes measurement, and ensure clearer return on investment for learners, employers, and other stakeholders.
Types of Questions We’re Asking in This Portfolio
What are the characteristics of effective apprenticeship programs that lead to apprentices’ success, and do certain components matter more for specific populations, industries, or geographies?
How do sponsors and intermediaries support the scaling of effective apprenticeships, especially in emerging industries?
What communication strategies, data infrastructure improvements, and state-level policies support the expansion of effective apprenticeships?
Strengthen High-Impact Public Postsecondary Education in Prison Programs
There are nearly two million people incarcerated in the U.S. (Source: Prison Policy Initiative). Ninety-five percent of people in prison today will be released in their lifetimes (Source: U.S. Department of Justice – Office of Justice Programs). While a college degree does not suffice to propel an individual over the consequences of incarceration, it is a crucial step toward employment and economic mobility in the free world.
With the reinstatement of Pell Grants for incarcerated learners, Ascendium seeks to expand the landscape of publicly funded postsecondary education in prison programs delivered by public institutions. In the past, we’ve traditionally invested in capacity building through intermediaries and technical assistance providers so that existing programming would be high-quality, outcomes-focused, and learner-centered. However, we also see an opportunity to invest in the expansion of new programs that provide incarcerated learners with a path to career success, self-determination, and economic mobility. We plan to do this by empowering public postsecondary institutions, foremost community colleges, with the capacity, knowledge, and data to access Pell Grants and create more high-impact postsecondary education in prison programs funded by Pell.
A grant to the Vera Institute of Justice for their Unlocking Potential Initiative demonstrates our interest in funding efforts to expand the landscape of providers accessing Pell dollars and delivering high-quality programs that integrate wraparound student and career supports. The Unlocking Potential Initiative promotes access to postsecondary education in prison by supporting the scale and quality of college programs. Vera is carrying out a comprehensive set of research and direct technical assistance activities with all 50 state-level departments of correction and the federal Bureau of Prisons. These efforts further support the implementation of Pell Grant access for incarcerated learners.
Through this portfolio, we are also supporting the development of a robust technical assistance infrastructure for the field of postsecondary education in prison that helps providers meet new regulatory requirements and deliver high-quality programs. We also seek to improve the ability for states and institutions to measure the outcomes of learners who participate in these programs. Additionally, we invest in high-quality research and program evaluation so that we and others can focus on scaling programs that provide incarcerated learners with a credential of value and a path to a career or continued educational attainment upon release.
Types of Questions We’re Asking in This Portfolio
What are the core components of effective programs offered by two-year public postsecondary institutions? What factors explain successful implementation of those components?
What are the most critical areas in which postsecondary education in prison programs need technical assistance (TA) to access Pell funding and deliver impactful programs? How do TA providers address those needs, and thereby, strengthen the quality of publicly funded postsecondary education in prison programs?
What are the most effective ways to increase knowledge sharing and collaboration to improve program quality?
