Strengthening State Systems for Adult Learners:

The Joyce Foundation's Shifting Gears initiative was launched in 2007 as a state policy change effort in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The goal is to strengthen state postsecondary, adult basic education, and skills-development systems so that more low-skilled workers gain the education, skills and credentials needed to advance and succeed in our changing economy. The Joyce Foundation supports the development of policies that both improve the quality of life for people in the Great Lakes region and serve as models for the rest of the country. The Joyce Foundation's grant making supports research into Great Lakes protection and restoration, energy efficiency, teacher quality and early reading, workforce development, gun violence prevention, diverse art for diverse audiences, and a strong, thriving democracy. The Foundation encourages innovative and collaborative approaches with a regional focus and the potential for a national reach. for their insightful and useful comments in reviewing the draft. We also thank the many individuals from the Shifting Gears state teams and management group for their valuable input throughout our evaluation work, including preparing this report. Finally, special thanks to Whitney Smith of the Joyce Foundation for the opportunity to work on this important initiative and her guidance and support throughout the past five years as well as valuable comments on the draft. This report was designed and produced by Douglas Gould and Company, a strategic communications firm that worked with the Shifting Gears grantees and technical assistance team. T he Joyce Foundation launched Shifting Gears in 2007 with the goal of helping six Midwest states significantly increase the number of low-skilled adults with the education and skills they need to succeed in the 21st century economy. Between 2007 and 2011, the Foundation awarded a total of about $8 million in grants to Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, with the expectation that officials in these states would pursue a systems change agenda for making existing education and skills development systems work better for adult learners. Shifting Gears emphasized the need for aligning policy and priorities across adult basic education, workforce development, and community and technical college systems to improve adult transitions to postsecondary education. State officials were expected to identify innovative strategies for serving low-skilled adults in new ways that, over time, would be infused into these systems and the mainstream operations of their local providers and institutions. The premise of Shifting Gears was that …