External Research

The External Research Committee (ERC) is a cross-functional Central Office team housed within MMSD’s Research, Assessment and Improvement department (RAI). The RAI department is the first point of contact for any research proposal, meeting quarterly to review external research proposals. The ERC sets the terms and conditions for protocols and processes and coordinates the review cycle. ERC members  collaborate with Legal Services and content experts in Central Office and school leadership best situated to weigh in on specific proposals. The ERC is not an institutional review board (IRB), and researchers will need to provide their own documentation of IRB approval or exemption.

Please see the ERC Guidelines document for more information on processes and policies
 

Any potential research project in MMSD must go through the external research review process. Generally, MMSD defines "external research" broadly as any situation where someone gathers data or information about MMSD students, parents or staff and shares that information with an external party. This may differ from how your institution defines research. 

Examples of projects requiring ERC review include, but are not limited to:

• External (i.e. non-MMSD) researchers who are students working on a master’s thesis or dissertation for a doctoral degree
• External (i.e. non-MMSD) researchers using any data collected and analyzed within MMSD to be published or presented
• MMSD staff working toward an advanced degree (master’s or doctoral)
• MMSD staff looking to publish or present their action research outside of MMSD

Grant-funded research conducted by postsecondary education faculty
Vendors looking to pilot an assessment or curriculum

Currently, we are not accepting the following kinds of proposals:

• Research proposals from undergraduate students enrolled in college courses.
• External research proposals that come from graduate students looking for access to sites or data for coursework, NOT for their theses or doctoral dissertations. There may be exceptions for students in coursework that fall under partnerships the district has with a university and the professor of record would apply under this scope of their partnership. 
   

Researchers working in and with MMSD are expected to follow all legal and ethical principles, as well as policies outlined in the ERC Guidelines Document. 

• All approved projects in which researchers will interact with students and/or families inside or outside of schools must go through a mandatory criminal background check. This also applies to those working with students, staff or families online. You can learn more about MMSD’s background check process here.  Background checks need to be updated yearly, and multiyear studies must share updated information with the ERC. 
• Receiving access to conduct research in MMSD is a privilege, not a right. In return, the district requires a clear, actionable summary of research findings to learn from the results and, where possible, inform continuous improvement in the district. In order to benefit from the research’s learnings, all researchers will be expected to share their final findings with the district using this template. The ERC will communicate with researchers to coordinate and access these findings using the template provided. 

All potential researchers must agree to these conditions in their application before their proposal is approved.
 

MMSD wants to support all MMSD staff members in pursuing their advanced degree goals. All MMSD staff members who are pursuing a masters or doctorate and are seeking to conduct research within their classrooms, schools, or within the district must obtain ERC approval. If you are conducting research in your classroom or school, please share your application with your principal first to sign off on the proposal before sending it to the ERC. If you work in a central office, please do the same with your supervisor.

If you are conducting Teacher Action Research in your own classroom, please see the guidelines document for more information. 
 

Your proposal may seek aggregated or individual-level data.                                
Aggregated data  refers to data about groups of people; for example, counts or proportions of students who meet X criteria, such as “average proficiency rate for 3rd graders.” As a privacy protocol, MMSD will suppress values in public materials where groups represent fewer than eight (8) individuals. Much of this data can be found on the WISEdash Public portal and does not need to be provided by MMSD. Please explore the WISEdash Public portal before requesting aggregated data. 

Individual-level data refers to data that can be associated with a specific person; for example, a table with one row per student, such as “proficiency rates for each MMSD 3rd grader.”

MMSD grants access to student, staff, or family individual-level data by:

 (1) consent or
 (2) data use agreement (DUA) or contract.

Without consent, an approved DUA, or contract, MMSD will not share individual-level data or aggregated data without privacy suppression. You can find more information on the process and tentative timeline for obtaining a DUA can be found here

The process and timeline for obtaining a DUA is separate from the ERC research proposal process.  Please review the ERC Guidelines for more information.
 

Secondary Data Pull Window
MMSD will complete data pulls for requested data three times per year.  All external researcher requesters must have applied and be approved through the ERC, and have an approved Data Use Agreement (DUA) if the request includes individual-level data or aggregated data without privacy suppression. Through your application you may request preferred windows, but we ask that you send an email at least 1 week prior to your preferred data window with your request.

2026-2027 Data Pull Windows: These are the window months when you can expect requested data:

• November
• March 
• July

MMSD will complete triannual data pulls for requested data. All external researcher requesters must have applied and be approved through the ERC. Through your application you may request preferred windows, but we ask that you send an email at least 1 week prior to your preferred data window month with your request. 

If you require a DUA, this process will take a longer time. Please plan accordingly. 

Process Steps Checklist
To be reviewed by the ERC, you must submit a completed application before the window’s due date. The process steps are:

• Review the ERC Guidelines and timelines for both the ERC review and data pull windows.
• Check that you have the required documents to upload BEFORE starting your proposal document, a signed confidentiality form (CMRSA), IRB approval or exemption and all pertinent research and recruitment materials. While the background check and CMRSA forms can be completed after an initial review, your proposal will not be reviewed if a CMRSA form isn’t signed or IRB approval or exemption isn’t uploaded. 
• Make sure you have read what entails a  "recruitment only” study in the ERC Guidelines document before stating if your proposal fits those requirements
• Submit a complete application to ERC before the next submission due date. You can find a link to the application portal here. 

If you are requesting administrative data and need to go through a separate DUA process, please indicate that in your application where it asks you to do so. Remember, your study may be approved but the DUA requires separate approvals and can run on a longer timeline. Please see the section and links relating to DUAs.  PLAN ACCORDINGLY.   
You can find the application submission portal here (Link to Application)
 

• ERC Guidelines
• Confidentiality, Mandatory Reporting and Statement of Agreements Form (CMRSA)
• Final Research Findings Share Form
• DUA Guide
• MMSD Available Data
• ERC Application (for reference only)

For Questions Contact                            
Lauren Lauter
ldlauter@madison.k12.wi.us