We all want our work to be rooted in evidence and best practices, and we all want to thoughtfully and deftly use high-quality, up-to-date information to guide our decisions. But these aims are neither easy nor simple to achieve. There is a glut of information in the world, of varying quality and relevance to Jewish communal concerns. 

The Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education’s CASJE Research Digest, which is relaunching next month, is a case study and model of a partnership between research and philanthropy designed to address this challenge and help Jewish communal decision-makers become more informed and adept users of data and research. 

Why now

In the aftermath of Oct. 7, we were witness to terrible loss and pain and an onslaught of questions regarding the well-being of the American Jewish community and the nature of its ongoing relationship with Israel. In that period, we also saw a proliferation of research, as a number of leading organizations and philanthropists sought to root their decisions in high-quality information about American Jewish experiences in this volatile time. CASJE catalogued more than 20 studies in just the few months following Oct. 7.

We heard from our partners and colleagues that many were struggling to keep up with the sheer volume of new research. They wanted to thoughtfully assess the many findings and data points and understand the different methodologies employed. And, most importantly, they wanted to be able to use this new research to update their thinking and develop timely, evidence-based strategies to support people and communities in need. 

In November 2023, the Jim Joseph Foundation approached CASJE and asked it to consider developing a research digest that would help leaders and concerned community members keep up-to-date on critical research. The idea stemmed from the steep uptick in data collection and dissemination by the Jewish community in the post-Oct. 7 landscape. The digest pilot, supported by the Jim Joseph Foundation, launched in December 2023. Over the course of the pilot’s 11 issues it covered eight studies, featured interviews with social scientists about how to responsibly read public polling reports and shared resources for how to talk about research findings with colleagues and stakeholders in a digestible and accessible manner.

This idea from the Jim Joseph Foundation aligned with a new strategy CASJE was developing to achieve its mission. Historically, CASJE had focused on undertaking its own research on high-leverage topics designed to support improvements in Jewish education and engagement. Today, CASJE has expanded its mission to support both high-quality research and high quality use of research. CASJE is building multiple pathways to radically expand the pipeline of research that reaches Jewish communal and philanthropic decision makers in order to ensure that relevant research knowledge is accessible and useful to the people best positioned to use it; this includes accessing research insights produced from within the Jewish community and beyond. The Research Digest is one tool among others, including research-practice partnerships and research use groups developed to ensure Jewish communal leaders are well-positioned to put research to good use. 

The Digest in use

The CASJE Research Digest pilot featured studies that focused on the post-Oct. 7 American Jewish experience. Each study was conducted by professional researchers; focused on important Jewish communal topics, such as attitudes about the Israel-Hamas war; already being discussed and circulated in the Jewish communal space and the general public; and offered insight into broader questions Jewish leaders have about the attitudes, behaviors and needs of American Jews at this time. 

The pilot issues were shared with over 3,000 Jewish organizational leaders, foundation professionals, lay leaders, researchers and journalists. The response was immediate. Journalists in the U.S. and Israel told us they used the digest to help them better understand emerging trends and more responsibly report on research featured in their own publications. Foundation professionals requested special briefings with CASJE to review the findings across studies and think about how they could use the data to better support grantees. Researchers reached out with new studies they hoped to share with key audiences. Communal leaders used the study to stay up-to-date and keep their organization informed; and leaders across all kinds of organizations and roles told us how they were making use of tools like our Q&As and our guide for discussing research with colleagues to deepen their capacity to critically read and assess research. 

A new partnership and scaling the vision 

The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation has long prioritized investment in applied research as central to strengthening Jewish communal life. In recent years, the foundation has expanded its focus beyond supporting individual research projects such as federation community studies to actively nurturing the applied research field as a whole. This broader strategy involves identifying new opportunities, addressing existing challenges, recognizing the gaps within the field, pinpointing best practices and developing methods to measure and assess impact. 

Additionally, the foundation has come to recognize that the value of applied research depends heavily on effective dissemination strategies. To maximize research impact, the foundation appreciates the importance of sharing research with key community leaders and organizations. It has also focused on identifying target audiences for research, understanding their needs and providing them with tools and resources to successfully implement research recommendations. 

After seeing the success of the digest pilot and its ability to strengthen the applied research field, the foundation seized the moment to work with CASJE and scale this initiative to benefit the entire Jewish communal and philanthropic sector. Supporting a new, improved iteration of the CASJE Research Digest, the Glazer Foundation made a two-year commitment that has enabled CASJE to hire research analyst Sasha Volodarsky, who will provide editorial oversight for the digest and develop new modes of engaging readers.

The CASJE Research Digest will now be published on a regular basis beginning in May 2025, featuring a wide variety of studies relevant to Jewish communal and philanthropic leaders and Jewish organizational life. CASJE anticipates publishing analytic summaries of both peer-reviewed publications in academic journals and grey literature (e.g., public opinion polls, policy reports, white papers). The CASJE Research Digest will not merely summarize findings from studies: it will offer expert analysis about a featured study’s methods, highlighting important considerations when weighing data (and its limitations), conclusions, implications and, perhaps most importantly, its applications. 

The new digest will expand the pool of relevant research that reaches leaders, going behind paywalls of academic journals and looking to adjacent fields and communities outside the Jewish world for insight. It will also include special programs to engage more deeply on key topics and exercise new skills in reading and assessing research. At a time when misinformation and disinformation are increasingly prevalent, these skills are not just important for helping Jewish community leaders make informed decisions but also for empowering those in our community to navigate the digital world — and the wealth of research and information it presents — responsibly. 

Part of CASJE’s mission is to support Jewish communal professionals in making sense of complex data for practical use. This research digest is intended as one tool that aims both to widen the body of accessible research and help readers become more adept consumers so that its application might be contextually appropriate. CASJE believes that offering funders a clearer understanding of the most urgent needs within the Jewish community, and providing tools to assess the effectiveness of their own strategies and investments will ultimately help philanthropy become more strategic, impactful and collaborative. 

We are now planning for new issues of the CASJE Research Digest and, importantly, defining the topics they will cover. We seek your input so CASJE can ensure that the digest presents research that is responsive to the areas of Jewish life you care about most. What topics are of interest to you in shaping the future of American Jewish life? What research have you seen recently that you would like to understand more deeply? What kind of research might help funders make more informed and strategic decisions? You can share your topics of interest with us as we look towards the expansion of this project here.

Max D. Baumgarten is the director of North American operations at the Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation in Los Angeles, where he oversees grantmaking strategies focused on strengthening Jewish life in the United States.

Stacie Cherner is the director of research and learning at the Jim Joseph Foundation.

Arielle Levites is the managing director of CASJE and co-director of The Collaboratory: A Center for Jewish Education at George Washington University.