Applied Research

A woman explains details of a research poster to a man staring intently at the colorful layout.

IVMF's Applied Research team produces nonpartisan, independent research on veterans, transitioning service members, and military families. 

Backed by Syracuse University's R1 research infrastructure, our team studies how veterans find work, build businesses, pursue education, navigate transitioning to civilian life, and what best helps veterans and their families build thriving lives.  

Projects

Dashboards

Our findings give corporate and philanthropic partners the data to invest with confidence, strengthen IVMF's own programs, and inform the policy decisions that shape economic, social, and wellness outcomes for the military-connected community. 

What We Do

Applied Research follows a five-stage process built around partner outcomes. Every project starts with the partner's real question and ends with research they can act on. That commitment to action is why our findings become the briefs, tools, and testimony that partners act on.

Discover

We execute full-spectrum, tailored social and behavioral research studies. 

Collect

We acquire data from interviews, focus groups, case studies, surveys, and panels.

Analyze

We consistently generate, share, and publish valuable insights.  

Apply

We translate insights into real-world, human-centered, and actionable solutions. 

Advise

We actively engage stakeholders, share our findings widely, and collaborate with partners to achieve shared goals. 

Research Capabilities: 

  • Mixed-methods research design: Combining quantitative and qualitative data, including advanced statistical analysis of complex datasets, to answer questions a single method cannot. 
  • Surveys, polling, and panel studies: Gathering real-time perspectives from the military-connected population at scale. 
  • Case studies, interviews, and focus groups: Capturing real lived experience behind the statistics through qualitative research. 
  • Research translation: Turning findings into briefs, infographics, tools, and testimony that practitioners and policymakers can act on. 

Who We Work With

IVMF's Applied Research team works with organizations that take their responsibility to veterans and military families seriously. Our clients and collaborators include federal, state, and local governments; philanthropic foundations; corporate and industry partners; community-based organizations; and higher education institutions across the country. 

Whether a partner needs a landscape analysis, a longitudinal study, or a policy brief built on existing IVMF data, our team scopes the work to fit the question. 

Team members discuss the IVMF Digital Library.

Digital Library

Have a Question that Needs Answers?

IVMF's Applied Research team partners with organizations ready to invest in evidence-based answers. If your agency, foundation, company, or nonprofit needs research that will inform policy, sharpen programs, or shift the field, contact our team to scope a project.
Stacy Ann Hawkins, Ph.D.

Stacy Ann Hawkins, Ph.D.

Managing Director, Research & Evaluation

shawki03@syr.edu

Rosalinda Vasquez Maury, M.S.

Rosalinda Vasquez Maury, M.S.

Director, Applied Research and Analytics

rvmaury@syr.edu 

Adam Pritchard, Ph.D.

Adam Pritchard, Ph.D.

Research Associate

ajpritch@syr.edu 

Jeanette Yih Harvie, Ph.D.

Jeanette Yih Harvie, Ph.D.

Research Associate

jyharvie@syr.edu 

Zachary Bridgewater

Zachary Bridgewater

Research Associate

zabridge@syr.edu

Mary Rachel Keville

Mary Rachel Keville

Associate | Research & Evaluation

mrkevill@syr.edu

Keoki Spaulding

Keoki Spaulding

Research Associate

kihansen@syr.edu

Mariah Brennan

Mariah Brennan

Research Associate

mbrenn06@syr.edu