Strategic Resource Allocation
At WestEd, our expertise in Strategic Resource Allocation ensures that resources are equitably applied based on student needs and aligned with your short- and long-term goals to improve outcomes for all.
Guiding you and your leadership teams to strategically allocate resources within the systems you manage, we investigate how state and local funding systems utilize resources to advance your organization’s priorities and strategies.
Our support is provided through research, trainings, direct technical assistance and coaching, and through tools that build capacities of local, regional, state, and tribal leaders to effectively manage resources.
Our Work in Action
Our team works collaboratively to ensure your resources are allocated to make a difference. Below are a few examples of our work.
Planning and Managing the Equitable Allocation of Community College Funds
To support California leadership efforts to strengthen the allocation of resources to community colleges and improve outcomes for students, WestEd provided research and evidence-based support, facilitation, and project management for a twelve-member Student-Centered Funding Formula (SCFF) Oversight Committee starting in early 2019. Through this work, we worked closely with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, college presidents, chief business officials, researchers, advocates, community college students, and faculty on improvements to the state’s funding formula for California’s community college districts.
The Student-Centered Funding Formula: Oversight Committee’s Recommendations on Priority Area Two
California’s 12-member Student Centered Funding Formula (SCFF) Oversight Committee was established by state budget legislation in 2018 and charged with evaluating and reviewing the implementation of the SCFF and providing recommendations to the California State Legislature and the Department of Finance.
This report was developed with support from our WestEd staff and is based on the discussions and recommendations of the Student Centered Funding Formula (SCFF) Oversight Committee.
Produced By WestEd and the Student-Centered Funding Forumula (SCFF) Oversight Committee
Read our Equity in Focus Blog on Planning and Managing the Equitable Allocation of Community College Funds.
Sound Basic Education for All: An Action Plan for North Carolina
In 1997, the Supreme Court of North Carolina (the Court) affirmed that the state must provide every student with an equitable, sound, and basic education. Yet, 20-plus years later, the state has not yet met this obligation.
In 2018, WestEd was chosen to lead an investigation into the major needs of North Carolina’s public education system. After numerous studies, WestEd created a multi-year action plan for ensuring North Carolina is able to serve all students and meet its constitutional obligations in the following areas:
- Staffing each classroom with a competent, well-trained teacher
- Staffing each school with a competent, well-trained principal
- Identifying the resources necessary to ensure that all children have an equal opportunity to obtain a sound, basic education
As part of our full study, WestEd conducted a cost adequacy and resource allocation study for the State of North Carolina that explored:
- How much funding is needed to provide a “sound basic education”
- How to revise the state funding formula to support a more equitable distribution of resources
- What supports and/or systems need to be in place to ensure the funds are spent efficiently and effectively.
A Study of Cost Adequacy, Distribution, and Alignment of Funding for North Carolina’s K–12 Public Education System
“Leandro: The Case for a Sound Basic Education”
The below documentary, produced by North Carolina’s WRAL, dives into the facts of the Leandro case and its impact on students in North Carolina.