2025 Innovation Day

With sponsorship from Arnold Ventures, the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) is pleased to present Innovation Day - an interactive half-day event designed to facilitate conversation between researchers and policymakers/practitioners. Sessions will be led by researchers with extensive backgrounds in the topics who will lead participants in a conversation about the body of research. Each session will include a moderator who is a policymaker or practitioner in the work who will help to bring the voices in the room into the conversation. Conversations will be designed to be just that - a conversation allowing for bi-directional learning between researchers and practitioners.

When is Innovation Day?

This event will take place on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 from 11:30PM - 6:00PM (a day preceding the start of the AEFP Annual Conference)

What is the agenda for Innovation Day?

Lunch - 11:30-12:30 

Conversation 1: Improving the educator pipeline - 12:45 - 2:00 

Conversation 2: Exploring pathways to college and career readiness - 2:15-3:30

Conversation 3: Reducing chronic absenteeism - 3:45-5:00 

Social hour - 5:00-6:00 

How do I participate in Innovation Day?

The event is limited to 50 participants. As such, we ask that those interested please apply by clicking here by January 31st at midnight ET. 

Priority will be given to policymakers, practitioners, and policy-adjacent individuals who include:

• Staff in local, state or federal education agencies, including researchers embedded in education agencies, school administrators, and teachers;
• Individuals working in the legislative branch of local, state or federal governments, including elected officials;
• Institutional researchers in public colleges and universities; 
• Individuals working in nonprofit organizations whose primary role is developing policy or supporting policymakers.

Accepted participants will be notified by February 7th. In the application please indicate the need for a travel subsidy. With sponsorship from Arnold Ventures, AEFP is able to provide funding for one night of hotel for all accepted participants and a subsidy to cover travel costs for a limited number of accepted participants.