The "Partnership for Early Childhood Science and Policy" is a partnership between the NGA Center for Best Practices, the National Conference for State Legislatures and Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child.  Our goal is to build the leadership capacity of state policymakers in both the legislative and executive branches to design and implement successful birth to five policies that shift the odds for vulnerable children and their families.

Our partnership has three main components:

1) National Symposium on Early Childhood Science and Policy
The National Symposium on Early Childhood Science and Policy is designed to build leadership capacity in the states for developing and implementing science-based policies that enhance children’s learning, behavior, and health. This symposium builds on the findings of A Science-Based Framework for Early Childhood Policy. State-based teams of legislators, gubernatorial policy advisors, and business and civic leaders will join with world-renowned researchers and Harvard faculty members to learn about recent advances in neuroscience, molecular biology, medicine, and developmental psychology—which together form an integrated science of early childhood development—as well as evidence-based policy implications from four decades of rigorous program evaluation research. Plenary sessions will be organized to address:

• the science of early childhood and its implications for state policies and practices;
• lessons learned from states that have already incorporated science into their policies, including information on outcomes, challenges, and solutions.

Building on lessons learned throughout the day, state teams will meet in small group breakout sessions to engage in peer learning and focus more specifically on the needs in their states, or on specific relevant scientific, programmatic, or policy issues. At the end of the day, all state teams will reconvene to share the content of their breakout work, and discuss next steps.

When: The symposium will open with a working dinner on June 26, and will run for the full day on June 27

Where: Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Who: State teams composed of up to eight people, representing the executive and legislative branches of government as well as business and community leaders. Diverse team representation will enable an authentic dialogue about state challenges and opportunities and the policy options that will be most effective in engaging support from all sectors. Bipartisan groupings are strongly encouraged. Teams should include critical stakeholders with necessary authority, influence and capacity to have a significant impact on early childhood systems and policy in the state.

2) Working Group on Early Childhood Science and Policy
The working group will bring together a diverse group of approximately 8-10 policymakers from the legislative and executive branches with a small group of core Center faculty to advise the Center on how the science of child development can have the most impact on state policy nationwide. In addition, the Working Group will:

• explore the relevance of new scientific findings for early childhood policy;
• seek and evaluate innovative new ideas for policy and practice;
• foster rich discussions across the various divides, including academia and the policy community, the executive and legislative branches of state government, and individual state borders.

Invitations to policymakers to participate in the Working Group will be extended in late 2007, and its work will commence in early 2008.

3) Issue Advisory Groups
To augment the Working Group, the partners will convene issue specific advisory groups related to early childhood policy concerns on an as-needed basis. Participants from both branches of state government will be invited based on their knowledge and interest in the specific issue at hand, as well as on the positioning of their respective states to move forward an action agenda. Membership on these time-limited advisory groups will involve advice and discussion on the policy and practice implications of relevant science, as well as on Center strategies and publications that bring the science to bear on policy debates. Possible topics include child mental health, the effects of early childhood experience on adult health, and program evaluation data.