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Home > Research & Centers > Projects : Wilder Foundation Collaboration

Wilder Foundation Collaboration

What is Wilder Research?

The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation was founded in 1906. It is a not-for-profit health and human services organization. Its research division, Wilder Research, has a history of conducting community engaged studies of pressing social issues such as homelessness, poverty, child care, and immigration. Wilder recently celebrated its 100th year of service to Minnesotans. A centennial insert was featured in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

History of collaboration

Wilder and the University of Minnesota Department of Sociology have a long history of collaboration. In the 1940s and 50s, Wilder conducted a number of studies on juvenile delinquency, chronically ill children, and had an ongoing family-centered project. Wilder researchers and department of sociology faculty members co-authored a number of research reports based on these studies. The current collaboration continues this tradition and has three primary aims:

1. Community engaged sociology: The Wilder Foundation and the University of Minnesota are committed to producing social science research that is useful to society and to actively participating in the community.
2. Further exploration of Wilder data: Research at Wilder produces rich data with many possibilities for learning about our society. This collaboration provides opportunities for Wilder researchers and department of sociology faculty and students to work together to ask interesting questions of the data that have not yet been pursued. Co-authorship of research papers as well as brown bag lunch seminars are two potential outcomes of this collaboration.
3. Research experience for graduate students: This collaboration will provide opportunities for graduate students to gain experience working with data and conducting original research while producing meaningful course papers, theses, and dissertations.

Available data sets

Wilder research has three datasets that are particularly well-suited for collaboration.

1. Child Care Use in Minnesota
2. A Survey of Hispanic, Hmong, Russian, and Somali Immigrants in Minneapolis-St. Paul
3. Assessment of Racism in Dakota, Ramsey, and Washington Counties