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Anita M. Larson

Director, Quality & Outcomes, Nexus Family Healing; Adjunct Faculty, Hamline University

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About Anita

Larson's work is aimed at building organizational capacity to apply evidence-based practice; and practice-based evidence to direct services and measure results. Helping to cultivate a learning organization requires organizational change: facilitating data use; data mindset and literacy and guiding all staff members to understand their unique contribution to outcomes. This work is where research meets practice and how knowledge can change lives.

Publications

"Learning to Listen and Listening to Learn: Recursive Information Flow to Build Relationships and Improve Practice" (with Sara Langworthy). Child Welfare 94, no. 3 (2015): 59-90.

Describes the authors' reflections and analysis of cross-sector focus groups of child welfare and school social workers. Highlights the importance of listening, learning, and relationship-building as essential to improving outcomes for vulnerable children.

Researcher-Policymaker Partnerships: Strategies for Launching and Sustaining Successful Collaborations (edited with Jenni W. Owen) (Routledge, 2017).

Offers a greater appreciation of the role of research in the policy process and new insights into different types of research. Provides insights into how best to formulate questions, how to work closely with those most affected, and how to communicate findings in ways that can be more easily understood by those who are depending on clear answers. Informs future roles in research, policy, or practice for students of public policy, public administration, social work, and education.