Research should not be conducted for research’s sake; it should be deliberate and systematic. At the Insight Center, our research and advocacy efforts are intentional—deeply rooted in movement- and power-building and purposefully designed to drive policy change. The question “What does this mean for race, gender, and place?” is foundational to everything we do. In the pursuit of economic justice, we maintain this lens across both quantitative and qualitative analysis, and we are also committed to exposing and rectifying the causes, not just the symptoms, of inequity.

Notably, our work overall—and within this pillar especially—is grounded in community voice and lived experience. We cannot improve the lives and livelihoods of people of color, women, immigrants, and marginalized families through research and advocacy without consulting centering their needs and dreams. Simply put: Inclusion is not possible without inclusion. We don’t research for; we research with. We don’t advocate for; we advocate with.