Learnings & resources

Centers our stakeholders.

We work alongside key stakeholders in all stages of our learning process. Our learning process is not exploitative and does not result in tokenism. We also recognize that some voices may have greater influence, and we do not place more value on the voices of stakeholders that traditionally have carried more weight.

Shoulders the responsibility of meeting our learning needs.

We try not to burden our learning activities entirely on our grantee partners.  Our engagement with stakeholders and grantee partners aims to be intentional, to connect back to our strategies, and is ultimately used in the learning process. 

Is transparent, respectful, and generous.

We want our stakeholders to understand our learning goals, why we request engagement or data, and how our learning will be used. We recognize that shared learning can serve the public good, and we share what we learn with the field appropriately. We also recognize that how we learn and share our learning can have unintended consequences, and we work to mitigate those.

Commits the necessary resources.

We recognize that our commitment to this learning philosophy and practice requires a commitment of resources, including staff time, to focus on learning.

Advances knowledge & practice

We align our learning process with our strategic priorities — using what we discover to refine our grantmaking and deepen our investment in partners whose work helps more Texas students reach their goals — especially those who face the greatest barriers to access and completion.

We share what we learn openly and honestly because we believe our field gets stronger when we do. And we acknowledge the work that remains to ensure every Texas student has a real path to postsecondary success.