Kyle Fagan

Kyle Fagan partners with state, regional, and local agencies to advance sustainable progress in education and community systems. His work combines research, evaluation, and technical assistance to help clients and partners address complex, systemic challenges through collaboration, evidence-based practice, and continuous improvement. 

Dr. Fagan’s portfolio of work includes leading an evaluation of consortium health and effectiveness for the Defense STEM Education Consortium, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. He also leads an evaluation of a community of practice serving technical assistance providers in higher education in prisons, funded by the Ascendium Education Group, and previously served as a senior advisor on an evaluation of Growing Inland Achievement’s collective impact model, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Across these efforts, he applies mixed-methods research and evaluation designs, including social network analysis, to generate actionable insights and strengthen practice. 

In addition, Dr. Fagan examines how artificial intelligence (AI) can responsibly strengthen research, evaluation, and technical assistance. He contributed to the development and application of principles to guide AI use in education research. Taking a systems perspective, he also explores how these principles can inform decisions across the broader education research system, identifying leverage points in areas such as research funding, data governance, participant protections, methodological standards, peer review, publication, and professional learning. 

Dr. Fagan previously directed the Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest, funded through the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education. In this role, he led a team that partnered with teachers and education leaders across seven states to provide evidence-based technical assistance and conduct applied research. The work addressed state and local priorities including early literacy, middle school mathematics, career and technical education, the educator workforce, and safe and supportive learning environments.