Welcome to AERDF-NIRDE Beta
Connecting community-centered work at a national scale
We are the AERDF National Inclusive R&D Ecosystem (NIRDE — pronounced nerdy 
), a community dedicated to accelerating breakthroughs in PreK-12 education for the public good, through Advanced Inclusive Research and Development.
Apply to join our community of people exploring and doing Advanced Inclusive R&D projects to propel our nation’s future education system!
What to Expect
In the spirit of early stage R&D, we’re going to try something new. We’d like to invite you to join our AERDF-NIRDE Beta Project. All active partners and awardees of AERDF’s work are invited — as well as people, communities, and organizations interested in an active, vetted space for those committed to improving education, growing the movement, and doing R&D together.
When applicable, we will be:
- Creating spaces for educators, researchers, developers, policy makers, and more to connect and collaborate
- Sharing opportunities for direct engagement with Advanced Inclusive R&D
- Sharing content (articles, webinars, reports, etc.) created through the AERDF AdvancED Fellowship and our active programs (EF+Math, Assessment for Good, Reading Reimagined) so everyone can continue to learn about Advanced Inclusive R&D and the breakthrough learnings from our math, literacy, and assessment teams.
- Working with members to map interests, experience, and expertise to help accelerate connections and our thread of multi-sector collaborations.
- Creating spaces for consultancy protocols and feedback on concepts, prototypes, and other aspects of R&D projects.
In this early stage, we are looking for:
- National and regional community and school partners
- Subject matter experts and experts with lived experience in different domains
- Transition to the real world partners (developers, providers, schools of ed, etc.) that would benefit from integrating/adopting our scientific discoveries and inventions into their work
Join a community of peers, including...
Builders
Caregivers/Family Members
Community Partners
Education Administrators
Educators
Learners
Funders
Industry Leaders
Intermediaries
Policymakers
Researchers
The AERDF-NIRDE community is committed to our threads of Advanced Inclusive R&D.
FAQs
Who is behind AERDF-NIRDE?
AERDF-NIRDE is supported by AERDF, the first nonprofit Advanced Inclusive R&D organization focused on scientific discoveries and inventions that transform learning for PreK-12 students.
How does AERDF-NIRDE work?
AERDF-NIRDE is a network of educators, researchers, developers and others committed to Advanced Inclusive R&D and working toward breakthroughs in education. Interested members will fill out this form and then receive a formal invitation to join the AERDF-NIRDE Slack, email list, and other online resources after review.
How does AERDF's Advanced Inclusive R&D approach work?
Inspired by the ARPAs (Advanced Research Project Agencies) initiatives that already exist in defense, health, and energy, we ground our approach in Advanced R&D around the science of learning and inclusive practices to uncover evidence-based discoveries and inventions. These discoveries and inventions are rooted in lived experiences and a commitment to equity. Through partnerships and “bridges” in the ecosystem, we bring our knowledge, insights, and solutions into the real world for others to carry forward and take to scale. The result: major breakthroughs that benefit PreK-12 teaching, learning, and assessment systems.
