Economic Mobility Learning Series: Child Poverty Action Lab
The Economic Mobility Learning Series launched with valuable insights from Dallas, another city doing important work in this space.
The Economic Mobility Learning Series serves as part of Greater Houston Community Foundation’s ongoing work to convene leaders, share knowledge, and spark informed conversation around Houston’s most pressing challenges. Through events, learning opportunities, and thought leadership, the Community Foundation continues to brings together donors, partners, and community stakeholders to explore ideas shaping the future of our region.
In this recorded webinar, we are joined by Alan Cohen, Founder and CEO of the Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL), a nationally recognized organization serving as an unofficial R&D engine as an unofficial research and development engine for their region. CPAL partners across public systems, community organizations, and neighborhoods to use data‑driven, human‑centered design approaches to break cycles of intergenerational poverty and improve outcomes for children and families.
Additionally, Alan brings decades of experience at the intersection of childhood, place, and poverty, including leadership roles in Dallas ISD and statewide partnerships in Washington State. As a Senior Fellow at Harvard’s EdRedesign Lab, he also supports cities across the country in building effective cross‑sector strategies to advance economic mobility.
This session offers valuable lessons and practical insights for Houston leaders, funders, and partners working to create lasting pathways to opportunity.
Key Takeaways
Scale through focus, not breadth.
One of CPAL’s guiding principles is achieving scale by focusing on “not scale.” By being very intentional and using data to shape the work, Alan shared examples of how CPAL has been able to make citywide impact by focusing on block-level locations and impact.
Lived experience is data that hasn’t been coded yet.
CPAL’s human-centered design approach has allowed them identify small, but high-impact, interventions that have fundamentally changed how people experience, and access, the programs designed to help them.
The middle of systems is where change happens.
Senior executive buy-in matters, but most government decisions are made by people in the middle. CPAL’s approach to equip these individuals with actionable data is what has unlocked rulemaking changes.
Philanthropy’s power is risk capital.
Government cannot easily fund the kind of interactive, experimental work that drives systems change. Philanthropic dollars create the conditions that allow new approaches to be tested and build the evidence needed for larger scale change.
Don’t wait for the perfect plan.
Alan encouraged everyone to have a bias towards action. Break big strategies into small steps, start with a narrow problem, and resist the pull toward perpetual planning. Strategic plans don’t translate into movement unless we action on them.
Child Poverty Action Lab Webinar
Economic Mobility Learning Series
Greater Houston Community Foundation invites you to join our Economic Mobility Learning Series, which are virtual presentations and discussions on models that advance economic mobility, featuring proven and emerging approaches from across the nation. Each webinar will explore real-world cross-sector efforts and research that help individuals and families move up the economic ladder.
We hope our Economic Mobility Learning Series strengthens community knowledge, inspires more partnership, and develops a shared understanding of what it may take to improve economic mobility in the Houston region.
Webinars are virtual and open to anyone interested in learning about and exploring ideas that could inform efforts to improve economic mobility in Houston, including:
- Nonprofit, philanthropic, public sector, and civic leaders working on economic mobility or related issues.
- Funders and donors interested in learning about evidence-informed strategies and models that advance economic mobility.
- Researchers, practitioners, and community leaders who are curious about what’s working, and why, in other regions.
Sign up for the next webinar!
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