A national, three-year research initiative focused on examining student perspectives on help-seeking and basic needs support to help institutions better understand and address student basic needs insecurity.
Understanding the need
Colleges and universities across the country are providing basic needs services, yet many students who could benefit from these supports do not engage with them, despite a great level of need. One reason is simple but often overlooked: students and institutions do not always share the same understanding of what “basic needs insecurity” looks like, or how and when support should be accessed.
Students’ perceptions, shaped by lived experience, cultural context, institutional language, and prior interactions with support systems, play a central role in whether they recognize need and seek help. When institutional strategies are not aligned with those perspectives, outreach efforts may unintentionally limit the effectiveness of even well-established programs. As institutions are navigating complex and shifting public benefits systems, without a clear understanding of students’ perspectives, stigma, and trust, even well-resourced support systems can miss students in need.
Funded by ECMC Foundation, Ithaka S+R invites 10-15 colleges and universities across the United States to participate in our Understanding Postsecondary Student Perspectives on Basic Need Insecurity research and learning initiative. Participating institutions will contribute to a shared research effort that elevates student perspectives, surfaces common challenges, and strengthens communication and connections to institutional and public benefits, while generating insights that can inform practice across the field.
Institutions are invited to submit a proposal following the instructions outlined in the sections below by March 6, 2026. Eligible applicants include:
- Public and private, two- and four-year colleges and universities located within the United States, including those in diverse geographic settings and at varying stages of basic needs support and infrastructure.
- Institutions committed to expanding opportunities for undergraduate student basic needs and willing to collaborate as part of a research initiative.
Project overview
Project goals
Working in partnership with a diverse group of participating institutions at varying stages of basic needs support and infrastructure, this research and learning initiative aims to surface insights that are grounded in students’ perspectives and translate them into actionable institutional strategies.
The project has three core goals:
- Develop a student-informed understanding of basic needs insecurity. The project seeks to understand how undergraduate students themselves define and experience basic needs insecurity, including the conditions they associate with need and the thresholds that prompt concern or action.
- Examine how student perceptions shape help-seeking behavior. The project will explore how factors such as stigma, trust, perceived eligibility, and communication influence whether and how students seek support, including campus-based resources and public benefits.
- Identify student-informed strategies for institutional outreach and support. The project will examine how institutions can better align communication, services, and benefits navigation with student perspectives to improve awareness, reduce stigma, and increase access.
The research activities below will generate actionable insights for institutions and the field. High-level project findings will be shared publicly to support both participating and non-participating institutions nationwide in adopting more student-centered approaches to addressing basic needs insecurity, while participating institutions will benefit from institution-level insights to inform local strategy and decision making.
This three-year research initiative will unfold across multiple phases, including collaborative planning, student-centered research, and opportunities for institutional learning and application.
Laying the foundation: Project planning and RFP (January-July 2026)
The project begins with a planning phase designed to establish a strong, shared foundation for the work. During this stage, Ithaka S+R will recruit a diverse cohort of 10-15 institutions through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
Before submitting an application, institutions are encouraged to attend a virtual information session on Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 2pm ET, or to watch its recording once it becomes available, to learn more about the initiative’s goals, timeline, and participation expectations. Institutions can register for the information session and receive notification when the recording is available:
Interested institutions must submit applications by Friday, March 6, 2026 at 6pm ET and will be notified of decisions by March 20, 2026.
During the planning phase, selected participants will:
- Participate in a virtual kickoff session to align on project goals, timelines, and roles;
- Begin coordination related to data sharing agreements and local IRB requirements, as needed;
- Nominate one student representative to join the Project Advisory Committee;
- And prepare to support student recruitment for interviews, focus groups, and surveys in later phases
Mixed-methods research: centering student perspectives (August 2026-July 2028)
After participating institutions and their Institutional Project Liaisons are identified and onboarded, we will commence a muti-pronged research agenda to generate both field-wide insights and institution-specific learning. Each phase is structured to deepen understanding of the full range of students’ experiences with basic needs insecurity, while producing concrete deliverables that both institutions and the field can use to inform local strategy.
- Interviews and focus groups: We will begin with 1:1 student interviews and focus groups that explore how undergraduate students define and experience basic needs insecurity, how they perceive stigma and institutional support, and how these perceptions shape help-seeking behavior.
- Student-informed survey: Insights from qualitative work will inform the development of a student-informed survey, which will be administered across campuses to examine patterns in student perspectives, awareness of resources, and engagement with institutional support and public benefits. Aggregate findings will be shared publicly to highlight national trends and differences across student groups and institutional contexts, while institutional-level findings will be provided directly to participating institutions to support local decision making, reflection, and strategy development related to communication, outreach, and support services.
Together, these methods will provide a nuanced, multi-dimensional view of how students understand basic needs insecurity within the context of higher education.
Communication strategy labs (August-December 2028)
The final phase of the project focuses on translating research insights into actionable institutional strategies. Ithaka S+R will convene virtual communication strategy labs that bring together participating institutions and project advisors, including student representatives, to reflect on findings and explore practical applications. By the end of this phase, each participating institution will leave with a clearer set of priorities and next steps for aligning their basic needs communication and support strategies with their students’ perspectives. Insights from the labs, along with broader project findings, will be shared publicly to support learning and application across the higher education field.
Benefits of participation
Institutions selected to participate in this initiative will engage in a multi-year research partnership designed to support institutional learning while contributing to a broader evidence base for the field. Through the project, participating institutions will:
- Gain institution-level, student-informed insights, complementing existing data and offering deeper context around stigma, trust, and communication.
- Receive contextualized benchmarking data that situates their findings alongside aggregate results from cohort institutions, supporting reflection without ranking or evaluation.
- Strengthen communication and outreach strategies related to basic needs and public benefits, and in developing a practical implementation roadmap to guide future outreach and programmatic efforts. Findings and resources from the project will be shared publicly, extending the project’s value to institutions nationwide.
Each participating institution will receive a $5,000 subgrant to help offset the time and resources required for engagement and student participation.
Application process
Institutions interested in participating must complete the Request for Proposals (RFP) application via Qualtrics. Applications must be submitted by Friday, March 6, 2026 at 6pm ET.
Through the RFP form, we ask that you provide a brief statement of interest describing alignment with project goals, current basic needs support at your institution, and confirmation of the institution’s capacity to support student participation in research activities. Applicants will also be asked to identify up to two Institutional Project Liaisons, and submit a brief letter of support from senior leadership (e.g. Vice President of Student Affairs, Provost, President, etc.).
Selected institutions will be notified by March 20, 2026, with onboarding and project kickoff activities beginning shortly thereafter.
Selection criteria
- Alignment with project goals;
- Demonstrated commitment to serving student basic needs and understanding their lived experiences;
- Institutional capacity for engagement with research, including data sharing and supporting student outreach;
- And institutional characteristics, such as geographic location, institution type, and basic needs infrastructure to ensure a diverse cohort.
Roles and expectations
- Serve as active partners in the research and learning process, engaging in project kickoff, periodic check-ins, and communication strategy lab focused on understanding student experiences of basic needs insecurity and improving institutional approaches.
- Support student outreach and research coordination, including sharing recruitment materials through campus channels and facilitating data sharing and research approvals, as needed.
- Dedicate appropriate staff time and institutional capacity to participate in project activities, review findings, and contribute to the development of a practical implementation roadmap. Currently, the estimated time commitment is approximately 40 hours cumulatively across the full duration of the project.
If you have questions about the project or the application process, please contact Melissa Blankstein (melissa.blankstein@ithaka.org) or Elmira Jangjou (elmira.jangjou@ithaka.org).