Coleridge Awarded $4.3 Million Grant from Ascendium Education Group to Strengthen Cross-State Education-to-Workforce Data Infrastructure

The Four-Year Initiative Will Integrate Postsecondary and Workforce Data Across States to Improve Transitions and Advance Economic Mobility

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Coleridge today announced it has been awarded a $4.3 million, four-year grant from Ascendium Education Group to lead a multi-state initiative designed to strengthen cross-state education-to-workforce linkages. The project will build a scalable, standards-based data infrastructure that enables states to securely integrate postsecondary and workforce data to better support learners navigating transitions into sustainable and more meaningful employment.

Despite growing demand for data-driven workforce strategies, many states face technical, legal, and governance barriers that limit their ability to link education and workforce systems across agencies, let alone across state lines. The new initiative will establish the infrastructure, agreements, applied learning models, and tools necessary to overcome those barriers and create a regional multi-state integrated data system within Coleridge's Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF).

"Learners increasingly cross state lines to pursue education and employment, yet our data systems often stop at those borders," said Ahu Yildirmaz, President and CEO of Coleridge. "With Ascendium's support, we will work alongside state partners to build a secure, scalable model for integrating postsecondary and workforce data across states and therefore strengthening transitions for those in communities, informing and accelerating policy decisions, and expanding opportunity."

The initiative will establish regional convenings and state-specific readiness assessments to evaluate existing data infrastructure maturity and legal frameworks for cross-agency and cross-state sharing. Over the course of the project, Coleridge and state partners will develop and implement a standards-based, scalable infrastructure connecting administrative data across states. Participating teams will operate in applied learning cohorts and benefit from the development of tailored data products, including dashboards, reports, and policy analysis to address critical education-to-workforce policy questions.

"Clearer insights into how education connects to employment are essential for strengthening pathways to economic mobility," said Carol Rava, Vice President of Education Grantmaking at Ascendium. "We are confident in Coleridge's capacity and proven leadership to help states develop the tools and infrastructure needed to better understand outcomes and improve transitions from postsecondary education into the workforce."

About Coleridge

Coleridge is a nonprofit organization working with governments to ensure that data are more effectively used for public decision-making. Coleridge provides agencies with the opportunity to enhance their data literacy and collaborate within and across states to develop new technologies through secure access and sharing of confidential microdata. Coleridge provides secure data enclave services to a diverse range of clients, including 24 state government agencies and several federal agencies, through the Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF). The ADRF is a FedRAMP-authorized cloud-based platform that enables government agencies to link their longitudinal data with other states and agencies. To learn more, visit www.coleridge.us.

Media Contact: Nick Obourn, [email protected]

SOURCE Coleridge