Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

IDEAS Impact Framework Toolkit

Introducing
IDEAS Impact Framework Toolkit

A brand-new toolkit for innovators in the field of early childhood.

A free self-serve toolkit for innovators in the field of early childhood.

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Brain-Building Through Play

Brain-Building Through Play: Activities for Infants, Toddlers and Children

The following handout series, developed with support from the LEGO Foundation, provides suggestions for games and play-based activities based on a child’s age. The activities for younger children are designed for adults to engage in with children. Activities for later ages allow the adults to step back, enabling children’s independence to blossom as they transition to playing more often with peers.

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Policymaker Perspectives: Q&A with Bill de Blasio

INTERVIEW

Policy Perspectives: Q&A with Bill de Blasio

We sat down with Bill de Blasio, who served as mayor of New York City to discuss his work in early childhood education, current challenges and opportunities in the field, as well as how policies across a variety of domains—from green space to housing security—can be implemented to have a positive impact on children and families.

Place Matters: Introducing Working Paper 16

WORKING PAPER

Place Matters: Introducing Working Paper 16

The new working paper from the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child explores the influence of the built and natural environments on child development and lifelong health.

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Reaching for Breakthroughs with Science-Based Innovation

Child with scales of negative and positive outcomes

The science of early childhood is a source of new ideas that could be used to develop more effective policies & services focused on the early years of life.

Browse Key Concepts | Browse Deep Dives

Learn more and browse all of Science

Using current best practices as a starting point, the Center works with a network of fellow change agents to design, implement, and evaluate innovative, science-based practice models that achieve transformational change for vulnerable children and families.

Our Innovation Model | Innovation in Action

Learn more about Innovation & Application

Innovation does not happen in a vacuum. To bring about lasting, population-level change for children facing adversity, we must foster a movement of collective change.

Browse Key Concepts | Learning Communities in Action

Learn more about Collective Change