Identifying salient issues from both practice and research Encouraging collaboration in the development of research studies and the application of varied methodological approaches Providing critical analyses on the influence of policies on the real lives of fathers and families and on the cognitive, emotional, academic, and social development of children Practice-Driven Research With few exceptions, the traditional assumption has been that knowledge flows from research to practice. We believe that perspective minimizes the potential of practice as a source of information and collaboration. Instead, we support the notion that the relationship between research and practice is bidirectional and reciprocal. Such a relationship can be achieved best by strengthening the links between researchers and practitioners and by establishing relationships of mutual learning, and contributing to policy formulation.
Practitioners collaborate with our researchers to inform program evaluation.
Study teams include researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who work together to examine practical applications, public policy, and social change. Through surveys, focus groups, and interviews with a sample of fathers who have and have not been involved actively in a fathering program, the study seeks to understand the degree to which employment, education, and other factors serve as either motivations or barriers to father involvement and children's well-being. Project tracks, documents, and analyzes the operation and impact of fathering programs and policies in the San Francisco Bay Area. The FIF can be adapted for multiple uses with different populations of fathers and for examining parenting relationships, including cooperative parenting. Fatherhood and the Criminal Justice System Study, conducted in collaboration with the Vera Institute for Justice, focuses on the status of fatherhood initiatives at the state level and the degree to which emerging, planned, or implemented policies have integrated issues affecting incarcerated fathers and their ability to be involved in their children's lives.