Applied Insights
EAB's Applied Insights offers contextualized research services and analysis to help college and university leaders move faster and with greater confidence, translating research, data, and expertise into clear guidance on what to do next.
Across higher education, leaders are being asked to make faster, more consequential decisions about enrollment, program strategy, financial sustainability, and more. The challenge isn’t access to information—it’s knowing how to interpret it, prioritize what matters, and take the next step.
Applied Insights is how EAB supports that work. Partners come to EAB with their most pressing questions and receive the right combination of research expertise, analysis, and hands-on support to guide a high-stakes decision. Through these engagements, EAB connects evidence to action, helping leaders interpret findings, weigh tradeoffs, and move forward with confidence.
Research and analysis that drives decisions
Many institutions turn to external research firms for quick answers, only to receive standalone reports that leave the hardest part unfinished: deciding what to do next.
Applied Insights is built differently. Every engagement pairs rigorous, institution-specific research with clear interpretation and guidance, so leaders leave not just with insight, but with a defined path forward.
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Traditional research approaches
- Deliver standalone reports
- Answer narrowly scoped questions
- Describe the landscape
- Leave interpretation and next steps to you
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Applied Insights
- Integrates research with expert guidance
- Helps define the right question—not just answer it
- Prioritizes tradeoffs and what matters most
- Provides clear recommendations and next steps
One partner. Not a patchwork of vendors.
Too often, higher education institutions rely on multiple vendors to answer different questions, resulting in disconnected insights, duplicated costs, and misaligned recommendations.
Applied Insights brings everything together in a single, continuous partnership.
- Avoid overpaying across fragmented vendors
- Absorb new priorities without starting a new contract
- Replace disjointed advice with aligned expertise
- Leverage EAB relationships across your institution to drive alignment
Why leaders rely on Applied Insights
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Move from questions to answers faster
Get decision-quality guidance without waiting on disconnected projects or vendors.
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Ground decisions in proven practice
Leverage EAB’s research, benchmarking, and cross-institutional insight to understand what works—and why.
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Turn insight into action
Go beyond analysis with clear recommendations, stakeholder alignment, and support that drives progress.
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Stay responsive in a changing environment
Access support that flexes to your needs, from quick-turn guidance to deeper strategic engagement.
How Applied Insights works
Applied Insights is designed as a flexible spectrum of support, ensuring leaders get the right level of custom insight for the decision at hand.
Whether you’re asking:
- “What new program should we launch?”
- “Where can we reduce costs?”
- “How should we respond to shifting demand?”
EAB helps you move from question to action through a single, coordinated experience—without over- or under-solving the problem.
Support may include:
- Targeted guidance to inform immediate decisions
- Contextualized analysis aligned to your institution
- Responsive Research for complex or high-stakes questions
- Diagnostics and audits to identify risks and opportunities
- Facilitated workshops to drive alignment and next steps
What powers EAB’s Applied Insights
Applied Insights draws on EAB’s full research ecosystem to inform every recommendation:
- Executive research interviews
- 8,000+ best practices
- Literature reviews
- Lightcast labor market analytics
- National Student Clearinghouse student intelligence
- Institutional profiles and case studies
- Federal and local databases
- Qualitative and quantitative benchmarks
- Full research library of reports, presentations, blogs, and more
- EAB’s proprietary AI research assistant, ERIKA
These inputs don’t just inform analysis—they enable better decisions.
Responsive Research that goes beyond the report
Responsive Research is a signature Applied Insights capability, designed for complex, high-priority decisions that require deeper analysis and clear direction. Unlike traditional custom research, Responsive Research doesn’t stop at findings. It connects evidence to action.
- Data analysis and research grounded in your institution’s context, not generic comparisons
- Synthesis of interviews, data, and best practices into clear implications
- Direct access to experts who help interpret results and guide decisions
- Outputs designed to inform action, not sit on a shelf
Applied Insights in action
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Market Insights
Uses data-driven analysis to support program strategy, portfolio optimization, and growth decisions
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Advancement Benchmarking
Compares your advancement shop operations against peer institutions to guide your investments
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Generative AI Curriculum Prioritization Assessment
Assesses which programs are (and are not) equipped to prepare students for how AI is changing jobs
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IT Organizational Chart Audit
Uncovers opportunities to improve your IT team structure and staffing through peer and industry benchmarking
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Administrative Effectiveness Index
Identifies critical operational inefficiencies and recommends a prioritized roadmap for improvement
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Enrollment Analytics Portfolio
Evaluates your enrollment performance over the past decade and reveals best-bet strategies for the future
What makes Applied Insights different
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Contextualized, not generic
Every insight is tailored to your institution’s goals, constraints, and stakeholders
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Integrated, not project-based
Research, data, and advisory support are delivered as a single experience—not a series of disconnected engagements
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Action-oriented, not just analytical
Outputs are designed to inform decisions and drive execution
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Continuously evolving
Capabilities expand over time to meet new challenges, including new research methods and AI-enabled tools
2.1K
institutions worldwide rely on EAB for research-powered insights and evidence-based advice
26K
higher ed leaders in EAB’s global network give us a sector-wide vantage point
7K
interviews and executive conversations annually immerse us in the jetstream of higher ed discourse
Where Applied Insights drives impact
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Strategy and differentiation
Evaluate positioning, prioritize opportunities, and support cabinet-level planning
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Academic innovation
Assess program performance and identify opportunities for growth and redesign
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Administrative effectiveness
Diagnose cost structures and uncover efficiency gains
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Professional and adult education
Evaluate market demand and expand lifelong learning strategies
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IT strategy and data
Inform AI, governance, and digital transformation decisions
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Advancement
Benchmark performance and increase donor engagement and revenue
Talk to an expert
Have a challenge Applied Insights can support? Submit the form below to connect with an EAB expert and explore how we can support your institution’s priorities. You may also reach out to your Strategic Leader or email [email protected].
Applied Insights is available to EAB Research partners. If you are not yet a partner, learn more about how we work with higher education leaders to solve their toughest challenges with research expertise and hands-on guidance.
Interested in Applied Insights?
Fill out the form with your information and someone on our team will follow up.