The Consortium engages federal, state, and local entities to become better producers and users of data, and conducts path-breaking, rigorous, and relevant research on contemporary questions related to family self-sufficiency and stability.

The Consortium consists of 3 main components.

• Advancing Welfare and Family Self-Sufficiency Research Project (Project AWESOME): Project AWESOME documents the state of the field; communicates with key constituencies; responds to emerging policy and research needs; creates and disseminates products that enhance the knowledge base; and supports collaboration and coordination of Consortium activities.

• Data Center for Family Self-Sufficiency: The data center assesses the state and needs of the field; supports the development of state and institutional capacity for data collection, linkage, or storage; facilitates data access agreements for administrative and program evaluation data; supports secondary analysis of data; and works with state and local human services to improve data quality.

• Scholars Network: Led by seven scholars who work independently and collectively, the scholars network undertakes a systematic, multi-disciplinary examination of the current gaps in family self-sufficiency and stability policies, programs and research; focuses on the institutional status of state and local human service agencies; and executes research and program evaluation activities in collaboration with human services agencies.