In 2020 the Chief Evaluation Office, in collaboration with ETA, launched the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Research Portfolio project. The goals of this project are to generate a range of short and long-term research options and build the evidence base that supports effective employment and training programs, program components, and service strategies.

This brief summarizes the input on research priorities gathered from stakeholders and experts between November 2020 and April 2021. Stakeholders provided input on priorities in two broad categories: workforce service strategies and the changing world of work. The top five topics related to workforce service strategies were:

1. work-based learning and apprenticeship;
2. career pathways, advancement, and stackable credentials;
3. integrated services and co-enrollment;
4. employer services and engagement; and
5. career planning and navigation.

The top five topics related to the changing world of work included:

1. job changes related to COVID-19;
2. changes in the value of credentials;
3. remote services;
4. data infrastructure; and
5. remote work.

In addition to these topics, stakeholders discussed the need to consider the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and trade-offs between short and long-term research needs.