The Rensselaerville Institute is “The Think Tank With Muddy Boots.”  We achieve clear and quantifiable outcomes for human gain by training and supporting the innovators who are the sparkplugs for change.  Currently we do this with nonprofits, schools, communities, universities, foundations and government agencies.  Our mission is not simply an idea but rather a tangible promise whose results are seen in people and places throughout the country.

The Center for What Works enables clients to define, track, achieve, improve and communicate tangible outcomes from their efforts and dollars. We use results as a starting point, rather than treating measurement as the end-game. We serve as a bridge from research to practice, translating our primary research on common outcome frameworks into clear, simple, practical tools/services that help philanthropy and non-profits achieve higher results.

School Turnaround is a leadership intervention that helps educational leaders at the school, district, state and university level to immediately improve academic performance.  What failing schools need are leaders equipped with the tactics, focus and energy to break the cycle of underperformance and dramatically improve academic results. School Turnaround is designed to bring about urgency and time-compressed change in one to two years.

The Community Sparkplugs initiative helps community members with a passion to make things better. Sparkplugs exist in all communities.  They have one thing in common – they would rather do something about a problem than complain about it. With the right set of circumstances and support, they step up to leadership roles and make a difference for their communities. We provide just that set of circumstances and support.