Center for Public Partnerships & Research

What Center for Public Partnerships & Research does

The Center for Public Partnerships & Research (CPPR) is a research center within the University of Kansas's Achievement & Assessment Institute, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Lawrence, Kansas with 105 employees. CPPR operates as a translational research and implementation hub that partners with public agencies, nonprofits, funders, and community organizations to address complex challenges affecting children and families, including child welfare prevention, early childhood systems, maternal and child health, and substance use disorder. Its core service lines span four stages — assess & explore, engage communities, co-design strategies, and build & implement solutions — delivered through a portfolio of integrated tools including the IRIS (Integrated Referral and Intake System) closed-loop referral network in 82 counties across 6 states, the DAISEY child care planning platform, the Our Tomorrows community sensemaking methodology built on a 2,500+ narrative StoryBank, and the Lemonade for Life ACEs training program. The Kansas Future Fellows fellowship and 1-800-CHILDREN warm line extend its reach into workforce development and direct family services.

CPPR's revenue model is grant- and contract-based rather than commercial. Funding flows from federal sources (notably HHS Administration for Children and Families, including a $3.7M five-year Family Strong grant and Preschool Development Grant funding totaling $8.9M), Kansas state agency contracts with DCF, KDHE, KSDE, and the Kansas Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund, and foundation grants from Sunflower Foundation and Kansas Health Foundation. During COVID-19 CPPR administered over $45M in pandemic response funds across technology, remote learning, worker health, and child care programs. No commercial pricing, API, or self-service product is offered; all work is delivered through partnerships with government and philanthropic entities. Reported outcomes include 88% of Family First-referred children remaining safely at home 12 months post-referral (vs. a 90% goal), 100,000+ referrals processed through IRIS, and 71,000+ Sunflower Summer attraction visits.

Name

Center for Public Partnerships & Research

Legal name

Center for Public Partnerships & Research

Website

https://cppr.ku.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CPPR is a University of Kansas research center that partners with state agencies, nonprofits, and foundations to translate research into programs for children and families, operating tools like IRIS (closed-loop referrals across 82 counties in 6 states), DAISEY (child care planning), and Our Tomorrows (community sensemaking), funded primarily through federal and Kansas state grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Research Services for Child and Family Well-Being

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child Care Services (6244), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) for Global Health (HLAJAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Education (EDADALAD)

Keywords

• Child welfare research
• Early childhood systems
• Community health partnerships
• Family services research
• Social research services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lawrence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Grants: Funding from federal agencies including U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families for programs like Family Strong ($3.7M), Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five ($8,943,000)
2. State Agency Contracts: Contracts with Kansas state agencies including KDHE, DCF, KSDE, and Kansas Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund for research, evaluation, and implementation support
3. Foundation Grants: Grants from foundations including Sunflower Foundation for substance use disorder needs assessment and Kansas Health Foundation
4. COVID-19 Response Funding: CARES Act funding for technology grants ($1.5M), remote learning grants ($40M), worker health funds ($1.6M), and child care support ($2.5M)

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CPPR conducts partnership-driven research, program implementation, evaluation, and technical assistance for state agencies, nonprofits, and communities focused on child and family well-being. It delivers and operates a portfolio of proprietary platforms and tools — IRIS closed-loop referrals, DAISEY child care assessment, Our Tomorrows sensemaking, Lemonade for Life training, Kansas Future Fellows, and the 1-800-CHILDREN warm line — alongside research, evaluation, and convening services.

Product overview

The Center for Public Partnerships & Research (CPPR) is a research center within the University of Kansas Achievement & Assessment Institute, not a commercial product company. CPPR operates a portfolio of interconnected research tools, programs, and platforms designed to strengthen families and communities. The core offerings include IRIS (a closed-loop referral network connecting family-serving agencies), Our Tomorrows (a community sensemaking platform using narrative collection), DAISEY (child care planning assessment), and Lemonade for Life (ACEs training). Supporting modules include ASQ Online developmental screening integration, the Child Care Desert Map visualization tool, and the 1-800-CHILDREN warm line. The Kansas Future Fellows program extends futures thinking methodologies statewide through a structured fellowship. These tools work together to enable CPPR's mission of translating research into actionable community impact.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DAISEY: Data and evaluation platform for early childhood systems
• IRIS
• Our Tomorrows
• Lemonade for Life
• Kansas Future Fellows
• Family Strong

Products and services

• IRIS (Integrated Referral and Intake System) A closed-loop referral platform connecting family-serving agencies to coordinate referrals and ensure warm handoffs between providers for Kansas and partner-state families.
• DAISEY (Data-driven Assessment & Inspection System for Early Years) A child care planning assessment tool that helps communities analyze supply and demand dynamics to support strategic planning and licensing decisions.
• Our Tomorrows (Community Sensemaking) A participatory research and sensemaking methodology using the SenseMaker storytelling tool to capture family experiences, identify patterns, and inform policy and programming decisions.
• Lemonade for Life

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% of Family First cases successfully completed referred services
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Kansas Children's Cabinet and Trust FundflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2021Partnership to create Kansas Future Fellows program, the first statewide network of ambassadors dedicated to futures thinking for early childhood solutions. Also partners on Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five ($8.9M) and other early childhood initiatives.
• OpenfieldscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2021Foresight experts partnered with CPPR to develop futures thinking methodologies and scenarios for the Future Fellows program. Co-developed Multiple Futures scenario planning for child care crisis.
• Kansas Department for Children and FamiliesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner on Family Strong $3.7M federal grant project. Also partners on Family First Prevention Services Act evaluation and 1-800-CHILDREN resource line.
• University of Kansas School of Social WelfareflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partners on Family First Prevention Services Act evaluation and Family Strong universal prevention project. Co-leading evaluation of community-based prevention programs.
• Kansas Department of Health and EnvironmentflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on Title V Maternal and Child Health needs assessment, child care licensing, and COVID-19 response including technology grants and child care support programs.
• Kansas State Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on Sunflower Summer program ($780K revenue to attractions, 71,000+ visits), Preschool Development Grant leadership, and early childhood education initiatives.
• Orange Sparkle BallcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting partner for CPPR's Incubation Process, helping staff develop minimum viable products and innovative solutions for children and families.
• CapitacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent think tank partnered on child care research including survey on present and future of child care in Kansas and social connection survey.
• IRIS Community NetworkscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor36 community networks across 6 states implementing IRIS referral system. Networks include state-level implementations in Kansas, Illinois, and other states.
• Kansas Children's Service LeaguecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner operating 1-800-CHILDREN call line. CPPR provides backbone support and technical assistance for the statewide resource directory.
• Greenbush Education Service CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on Sunflower Summer program implementation for Kansas attractions.
• Institute for Policy and Social Research (IPSR)coreTechnology or IntegrationCollaborated to create Child Care Desert Map using census data and state data. IPSR provided expertise on census data integration and visualization.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• RTI International: Large nonprofit research institute conducting social and health sciences research for government clients. Comparable to CPPR in delivering applied research and program evaluation services to federal and state agencies.
• RAND Corporation: Large, established research institution conducting policy research across health, education, and social welfare. Comparable as a research provider to public agencies, though broader in scope and significantly larger in scale than CPPR.
• American Institutes for Research (AIR): Major behavioral and social science research organization with deep state and federal contract work in education, health, and human services. Comparable to CPPR in delivering evaluation, technical assistance, and program implementation support.
• Mathematica Policy Research: One of the largest U.S. social policy research and evaluation firms, competing for federal and state program evaluation contracts. Comparable to CPPR as both perform rigorous evaluation work for public agencies on family and child welfare programs.
• MDRC: Social policy research organization running program evaluations and field experiments for public agencies. Comparable to CPPR in evaluating social programs including family and child welfare interventions, though operating at a much larger national scale.

Regional players

• WestEd: Nonprofit research and development agency focused on education and early childhood systems. Comparable to CPPR's education-focused work with KSDE and early childhood systems building, though primarily serving western U.S. states.

Direct peers

• Child Trends: Nonprofit research organization focused exclusively on improving the lives of children and youth through rigorous data and evaluation. Direct peer to CPPR given overlapping focus on early childhood, family stability, and child welfare outcomes research.
• Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago: University-based research center focused on child, family, and community well-being policy research. Closely comparable to CPPR's positioning as an embedded university research center producing applied child welfare and early childhood research for state and federal agencies.

Emerging players

• FrameWorks Institute: Research organization focused on strategic communications and narrative research for social issues, with overlap to CPPR's Our Tomorrows/SenseMaker community sensemaking work using story-based methodology to inform policy.

Others

• University of Kansas Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI): Parent organization housing CPPR; comparable as a university research institute delivering applied research, evaluation, and technical assistance to state agencies across multiple program areas.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC2VUxa8PZJGkmRcneoqozRg
• Facebookfacebook.com/KUCPPR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ku-cppr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Center for Public Partnerships & Research