Research Partner and Principal Investigator Services
Many funders require a qualified researcher to lead the research on a funded project. Praxia Insights serves as research partner and can serve as Principal Investigator on grant-funded studies, bringing doctoral-level research credentials to organizations that don't have a credentialed researcher on staff.
Plenty of organizations doing excellent work can't compete for research funding, because the application asks for a qualified researcher to lead the study and they don't have one on payroll. Hiring a doctoral researcher for a grant you haven't won yet isn't realistic, so the opportunity passes.
Partnering with an outside research organization solves that. We bring the research credentials, design the study, lead the research work, and take responsibility for the methods, while your team runs the program and keeps doing what you're good at.
Praxia Insights can serve as Principal Investigator on funded studies, or work alongside your team in a research partner or co-investigator role, depending on what the funder requires and what makes sense for the project.
Discuss your upcoming proposal
Who This Is For
Nonprofits pursuing research funding: the program is strong and the application needs a credentialed researcher attached to it.
EdTech and health tech companies: you need independent evidence that your product works, produced by somebody who isn't you.
School districts and networks: a study needs a research lead who can design it properly and stand behind the findings.
Community-based organizations: a funder wants research-quality evidence and your team hasn't built research capacity yet.
Universities and research centers: you need a partner organization to carry part of the research on a larger project.
What We Take Responsibility For
Study design
The research design, sampling approach, and analysis plan, matched to your research questions and to whatever evidence standard your funder holds you to.
IRB and research ethics
Preparing and managing IRB submissions where human subjects review applies, including protocol documentation, consent and assent materials, and responses to reviewer questions.
Research leadership
Leading the research work through the life of the project, including the methodological decisions that come up once a study meets a real program and something has to change.
Data collection and management
Site and participant recruitment, data collection across sites and time points, and the data management practices a funded study is expected to follow.
Instruments and measurement
Developing or selecting the surveys, protocols, observation tools, and assessments the study needs, and validating them where the work calls for it.
Analysis and reporting
Statistical and qualitative analysis, interim and final reporting on the funder's schedule, and manuscripts or conference materials where publication is part of the plan.
Our team has conducted research in partnership with universities, research centers, and school systems, including:
Johns Hopkins University Center for Research and Reform in Education
Columbia University
Brown University
Berklee College of Music
Ball State University
University of Portland
Pacific University
American Institutes for Research
K-12 schools and districts across all 50 states, and international schools
That range matters for study design. A research partner who has collected data in real schools understands what a district will and won't agree to, how long consent actually takes, and why a design that looks clean on paper can fall apart in the field.
Institutions We Have Worked With
Project Examples
A NIH-funded study examining neuropsychological predictors of adaptation after trauma.
A five-year randomized control trial (RCT), funded by the U.S. Department of Ed, to study individualized math instruction.
Led a national survey study in partnership with Berklee BEATL & Adobe to study AI use in the music industry.
How We Work
1. Initial consultation and plan
We meet to discuss your specific needs and confirm this is the right approach for the decision you're facing.
2. Project scoping and budget
You receive a custom scope of work with tasks, due dates, and budget before any work begins. Fixed scope, no hourly surprises.
3. Project execution
You receive updates on progress throughout, including recruitment status and fielding milestones.
4. A true partnership approach
We share insights with you as they come up throughout the project, so your team can start acting on what we learn long before the final report is finished.
5. Project completion
We deliver final insights in the format your team will actually use, whether that's a written report, an executive presentation, or a working session.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes. Our researchers hold doctorates and can serve as PI on funded studies, taking responsibility for the research design, the methods, and the findings. Whether the funder allows an external organization to hold the PI role depends on the program, so tell us the funder and we'll confirm what's permitted.
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A research partner leads or co-leads the research itself, including designing the study and answering the research questions. An external evaluator assesses whether a program achieved what it promised, and independence from the program is the point of the role. Some projects need both, and they're usually filled by different organizations for that reason.
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Yes. We're regularly named as the research partner in applications and provide the biographical sketch, qualifications, letter of commitment, research plan, and budget narrative your application requires.
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Proposal-stage work is scoped and billed separately from the research itself, so you're not committed to a research contract that depends on an award you haven't received. We agree the arrangement before any work starts.
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Yes. We prepare and manage IRB submissions where human subjects review is required, including the protocol, consent and assent materials, and responses to reviewer questions. If your organization has its own IRB, we'll work through it.
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Yes, and it's a large part of what we do. Our team has run research with K-12 schools and districts across all 50 states and with international schools, so we know how district research approval works and how much lead time it needs.
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That depends on what you want and what the funder expects. We can prepare manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication, conference proposals, and practitioner-facing materials. We'll agree authorship and publication plans at the start of the project so nothing is contested later.
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Research partnerships on funded projects typically run the length of the grant, often two to five years. Shorter single-study partnerships are also common. Both work, and the structure follows the project.
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It depends on the scope of the research, the length of the project, the number of sites, and how much data collection is involved. Research costs are usually built directly into the grant budget, and we'll help you scope a defensible figure before you submit.
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Yes, when that's what you want. Some partners want us to run everything, and others want their staff trained to carry more of the work over time. We can build training and documentation into the project so your team gains capability along the way.
Our Experience
More than 60 studies designed, including case study, quasi-experimental, RCT, and mixed-method designs
More than 100 focus groups and in-depth interviews conducted
More than $4 million in grant-funded research managed
Clients spanning Fortune 500 companies, startups, nonprofits, universities, and federally funded programs
Our researchers hold doctorates in educational neuroscience, psychology, and related fields
Need a research lead for your project?
Tell us the funder, the research questions, and your timeline. We'll advise on the right partnership structure and what it would take.