Founding partners the Rennie Center, Strategies for Children, and the Massachusetts Early Childhood Policy Research Collaborative aim to provide state leaders with evidence-based insights for early childhood policy decisions.
BOSTON, MA – Today, a new statewide partnership known as the Massachusetts Early Childhood Exchange (ECX) officially launched to help ensure that state and local policymakers have access to the high-quality research and evidence needed to inform critical early childhood policy decisions. By strengthening the connection between research and policymaking, ECX will provide policymakers with timely, relevant, and actionable information and evidence to support policy development, implementation, and budget decisions.
The Exchange is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between three well-respected organizations with complementary expertise spanning early childhood policy, advocacy and research: the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, Strategies for Children (SFC), and the newly formed Massachusetts Early Childhood Policy Research Collaborative (MA ECPRC), led by representatives from Northeastern University’s School of Public Policy & Urban Affairs, Wellesley Centers for Women, and Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development.
Together, the partners seek to break down barriers to information, strengthen coordination across the early childhood sector, and share applied expertise grounded in the Massachusetts context. While Massachusetts has made historic investments in early education and care—with a 58 percent increase in state spending over the past five years—significant work remains to align broader early childhood investments with best practice, support effective implementation, and identify which strategies are producing meaningful improvements for children and families. At the same time, important new and emerging research continues to shape the field, but policymakers often have limited access to research adapted for practical policy use. ECX addresses this gap by serving as a go-to resource hub connecting the executive branch, state legislators, state agencies, and communities with the latest evidence from the research community.
The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy coordinates the Exchange and specializes in research translation and policy analysis. Strategies for Children serves as the legislative and community liaison tracking the pulse of state policy priorities while maintaining connections with the executive branch, state legislators, program providers, and advocates in the early childhood field. The Massachusetts Early Childhood Policy Research Collaborative provides deep research expertise through a network of scholars across the Commonwealth who design and conduct applied, policy-relevant research. Together, they provide a unified knowledge base customized for the Massachusetts context. ECX is facilitated by Jill Souza Norton, of Clark Street Consulting, who provides support to members in agenda setting, decision making and liaising to funders.
With these three partners leveraging their collective capacity, policy decisions in the state legislature and government agencies will be better informed by evidence, ultimately improving outcomes for the Commonwealth’s youngest children and their families.
A collaboration of funders is supporting ECX, including The Boston Foundation, the Commonwealth Children’s Fund, the Eastern Bank Foundation, and the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation. By coming together around the shared vision of strengthening early childhood research and policymaking, these organizations are promoting a more strategic and coordinated approach to ensure critical research needs are addressed across the early childhood sector.
"We know so much about what young children need to thrive and the supports that can make a lasting difference in their lives. Too often, however, that knowledge remains fragmented across sectors and systems that do not consistently work together. The Early Childhood Exchange is designed to bridge those divides by bringing together research, policy expertise, and state leadership to ensure that evidence more directly informs decisions affecting young children and families across Massachusetts.”
– Chad d’Entremont, Executive Director, Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy
"The Early Childhood Exchange gives Massachusetts researchers something we have long needed: a direct, structured pathway from our work to the people making decisions about children's lives. This collaboration will not only connect existing research to policy — it will help us identify the gaps, ask better questions, and build the evidence base our state needs for the long term."
– Kim Lucas, Professor of the Practice in Public Policy and Economic Justice, Northeastern University and MA Early Childhood Policy Research Collaborative Co-Leader
"Advocates have always known that connecting people to power is how policy changes. Now, with the Early Childhood Exchange, we can do that with the full force of research behind us. When a legislator asks what the evidence says about a program or a funding decision, we will have an answer — fast, credible, and actionable. That is a game-changer for early childhood in Massachusetts."
– Amy O’Leary, Executive Director, Strategies for Children
