Despite increased efforts to improve graduation and persistence rates for men of color in college, these outcomes have not significantly improved. Researchers and practitioners have developed very promising models to reverse these trends, yet it remains unclear whether the models work in practice or whether they can be altered to produce better outcomes.

In April 2015, MDRC and the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) hosted a free webinar to help the higher education community to build stronger evidence of effective college success strategies for men of color by:

• Introducing a framework for developing competitive proposals
• Illustrating the framework through a case study for a research project of a success initiative targeted for men of color
• Providing limited technical assistance to respond to ideas and assist in developing applications for federal First in the World and other federal grant competitions to further this work

This one-hour webinar was moderated by Lashawn Richburg-Hayes, Director of the Young Adult and Postsecondary Education Policy Area at MDRC, and Michelle Asha Cooper, President of IHEP.