Innovation Investment Awards Evaluation
Basis is partnered with the Michigan Center for Adult College Success at TalentFirst (the Center) to evaluate the Innovation Investment Award (IIA) Program.
Why our Evaluation Matters
Our partnership works with nine postsecondary institutions to reengage and graduate students over the age of 25.
We focus on three commitments: understanding how each funded project works, measuring its impact, and supporting bold new solutions.
Michigan is leading this effort with a simple belief: every adult, regardless of background, should access high-quality higher education.
By investing in reskilling and upskilling adults over 25, the state advances its Sixty by 30 goal: ensuring 60% of working-age Michiganders hold a certificate or degree by 2030.
While the goal seems wildly aspirational, at Basis, we know goals are never too ambitious; just uninformed. And by informing our partners through research, evidence, and evaluation, Basis can turn ambition into success.
Statistics
Impact in Action
Funding with Intention:
In the fall of 2024, the Center awarded $6.4 million to the project.
Individual Partners, Individual Solutions:
The project spans across nine institutions: Basis has provided essential support in mapping out projects, determining implementation metrics, and maximizing impact–for each institution.
Flexible Solutions for Diverse Challenges
Implementation is complex, and impact can be hard to see – which is a core understanding in the work we do.
Each institution tackles adult college completion with its own strategy, generating a diverse set of initiatives for evaluation. Instead of chasing a one-size-fits-all fix, we treat this variety as an asset that reveals multiple viable solutions.
This allows our research team to work closely with every campus to decide what to measure, how to collect data, and how to design the evaluation. We tailor our approach to each institution’s context and goals, not an abstract model.
With our virtual boots on the ground, we build relationships with grantees, dig into their projects, and document both challenges and wins.
But we don’t stop there: we provide technical assistance so institutions can continue to measure impact and refine their efforts over time, leaving a lasting impact.