CRCP team members (left to right): Mandi Muse, Jesse McCarter, Sheila McCarthy, Dr. Jamie Vaske, Dr. Julie Baldwin, Dr. John Eassey, and Dr. John Boman.
The Center for Research and Collaborative Partnerships celebrated its official launch in May 2026 in Washington, D.C. by bringing together researchers, policymakers, government leaders, practitioners, and community partners.
Attendees heard from the Dean of SPA, Associate Dean of Research, and Director and Associate Director of CRCP. Programming highlighted researcher-practitioner work with partners – Buncombe County, United Way of Central Maryland, and the New York Unified Court System – and a networking reception.
Jamie Meyers (United Way of Central Maryland) and Dr. Kevin Rumley (Buncombe County Veterans Treatment Court) explain the benefit of a researcher-practitioner partnership with CRCP.
Sheila McCarthy and Sky Davis (New York United Court System) describe their experiences working with CRCP on projects.
Our commitment is to turn rigorous evidence into practical, realistic recommendations that can actually be implemented on the ground.
We design our work with our partners, not for them. We ask: What are your constraints? What does a Tuesday afternoon really look like for your team? What can you reasonably do with the time, tools, and authority you have?
If a recommendation will not work in your world, it is not a good recommendation—no matter how strong the data are. Our goal is to help you move from “interesting findings” to changes in practice, policy, and outcomes that people can actually see and feel.
- Dr. Baldwin
“But our defining feature is not just that we do rigorous research—it is that we make research usable. Too often, research lives on a shelf: dense, inaccessible, and disconnected from the realities of courtrooms, clinics, agencies, and communities.” Dr. Julie Baldwin, Director of CRCP
