Thought Leadership Fund

As the largest and most widely relied-upon association serving professionals advancing education worldwide, we are in a strong position to establish CASE as a thought leader in the field. To do so, we strategically direct our resources to uncover new knowledge, shed light on trends affecting our member institutions, and work with others to apply that knowledge in ways that demonstrate the value of the profession.

The Narrative: The Imperative for Higher Education 

The role and value of higher education is increasingly being questioned, driven by stories about rising student debt loads and free/protected speech controversies. Polling data from Pew, Gallup, and other organisations point to an erosion of confidence in the higher education sector. CASE, whose members include practitioners in all areas of institutional advancement—development, marketing, communications, alumni affairs, and government and community relations—has an important role to play in redressing this narrative. This effort includes supporting our members to tell their institutional stories and connecting those with the greater conversation about higher education’s vital role in the betterment of our communities and our world. This will be accomplished in a number of ways, including the creation of tools and materials for institutions, hosting events and forums, and otherwise insisting that leadership in academe is prepared to have the crucial conversations with their stakeholders in ways that move the conversation forward.

Research Fund

Advancement leaders want more data-driven decision making. To meet this demand, CASE is delivering AMAtlas, a global resource for educational advancement-related metrics, benchmarks, and analytics.

AMAtlas is comprised of global member-based surveys, as well as custom and funded research on specific topics. Research findings, benchmarking, and longitudinal information help institutional teams set objectives, assess performance, make informed investment decisions, lobby senior management for investment, improve overall departmental performance, and inform our profession.

Surveys and research are conducted for talent recruitment and retention, for capital campaigns, and to collect data regarding principal gifts and principal gift donors.  

Should you or your organization have an interest in funding a specific-research topic, or are interested in other topics that CASE is interested in, contact Cara Giacomini, Vice President of Data, Research, and Technology.