Center for Applied Research in Human Development

The Center for Applied Research at the University of Connecticut is a joint venture between the department of Human Development and Family Studies and Cooperative Extension System in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The Center provides assistance to state and community-based agencies in the development, delivery, and evaluation of human service programs. The primary focus is on promoting high quality educational programming and evaluation for programs that promote child, youth, and family development. Recent advances in theory and research are applied in the planning and implementation of all Center initiatives. The Center also provides hands on opportunities for students to learn practical research and evaluation skills in a variety of human service, prevention, and community education programs.

Faculty from Human Development & Family Studies and the Cooperative Extension System contribute multi-level consultation and expertise to the design, execution, and analysis of the various evaluation projects. The Center strives to create a supportive relationship with clients to offer assistance at every level of the program development and evaluation planning. Technical assistance is provided by graduate students and faculty. Services provided by the Center include:

• Consulting with human service programs to offer advice on research methods and the selection of appropriate evaluation instruments for projects


• Contracting to perform data analysis for community agencies and programs


• Conducting focus groups to help programs plan appropriate programming or evaluations


• Providing technical and assessment support during the evaluation process


• Developing and disseminating newsletters
• Offering opportunities for graduate students to learn about the research and publication process under the mentorship and guidance of experts in the field of human development, family studies, and applied research.

The Center for Applied Research in Human Development is the recipient of the 2006 Outreach Recognition Award granted by the University of Connecticut, Office of the Provost, as an “Outstanding Example of a Programmatic University Resource.”

Helpful Links

• Connecticut for Community Youth Development (CCYD)
• Cornell University, Cooperative Extension, Parenting Initiative, Evaluation
• University of Arizona, Cooperative Extension, Evaluation Planning
• Child Trends, Research Tools to Improve Youth Development
• National Resilience Resource Center
• Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development
• Harvard Family Research Project
• Evaluating the National Outcomes
• United Way, Outcome Measurement Resource Network
• Children, Youth and Families Education and Research Network
• The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation