Mission and Vision
Mission and Vision
Mission
The Institute for Racial Justice builds research-to-action infrastructure that connects communities, scholars, and decision-makers. We lead research grounded in community priorities and engineer the conditions that move insights into policy and practice.
Vision
A future where community knowledge, rigorous research, and decision-making environments are no longer disconnected, so that evidence moves to action and leads to lasting change.
What We Do
IRJ prioritizes a small number of sustained, multi-year partnerships that generate multiple research, learning, and policy outputs over time. Depending on the partnership context, IRJ may provide embedded research capacity, targeted evidence, or advisory support, tailoring its approach to shared goals and timelines.
Embedded Partnerships
IRJ embeds within your organization to co-define research questions, build capacity, and sustain applied research over multiple years.
Policymaker Partnerships
Rapid evidence syntheses, advisory tables, and implementation guides designed to inform legislative or agency decision-making.
Strategic Convenings
Curated dinners, community tours, and design sessions that align priorities, gather feedback on work in progress, and expand cross-sector networks.
Data Access and Shared Analytics
Secure data-sharing agreements that include IRJ analysis, periodic insight memos, and interactive dashboards to inform strategy and performance.
Commissioned Studies and Evaluations
Stand-alone research projects, program evaluations, or landscape scans tailored to your questions and decision timelines, pursued when they advance a broader partnership or contribute to IRJ’s long-term research and policy agenda.
Student Talent Pipeline
For-credit or paid student placements scoped to partner needs, supervised by IRJ or Loyola faculty, producing deliverables such as briefs, tools, datasets, or event materials. This pipeline operates in two directions: IRJ places students with external partners, and faculty courses use IRJ as the applied learning site.
Read Our Strategic Plan