GRA Organizations

Tap into our nationwide network of individuals engaged in governmental research. The GRA has formed councils for executive directors, researchers, and operations and communications staff. The councils meet virtually throughout the year to share ideas, join in learning opportunities, and foster professional connections and collaboration.

• Executive Directors Council: Our executive directors, CEOs, and presidents discuss common issues confronting our organizations, from leadership and nonprofit management to policy and government research issues. Conversations are informal and confidential and facilitate learning from one another.
• Researchers Council: GRA researchers participate in skill-sharing sessions and discussions of research and policy issues. Recent meetings, for example, have shared insights on AI tools, Census databases, and Tableau.
• Operations Council: GRA staff who work in administration, development, marketing, and other operational roles discuss best practices and share tips on things like communications, operational best practices, fundraising strategy, event management, and much more. 

Reunite with colleagues and make new friends at the GRA Annual Conference held each summer. Members register at a discounted rate. The conference provides opportunities to learn and discuss research into critical policy issues. It also showcases exceptional research by presenting peer-reviewed GRA awards submitted by GRA members within five award categories.

Sign up your organization’s staff for our monthly newsfeed, highlighting research and policy briefs from all association members and other happenings across all GRA member organizations by subscribing to our “GRA Reporter” newsletter. And you can let us know about your work, an event, or an award you have received and have it highlighted in the newsletter.

We can make sure your team is added to our email list! Please send any changes or new additions to your staff and their email addresses to secretary@graonline.org

GRA members can quickly find how their peers are researching similar policy topics in other cities and states. Our GRA Research Database is easily searchable by type of research product, research topic, and organization. GRA members can add their own research to the database to share with your colleagues.

GRA’s Slack Channel allows members to pose research questions, share work, solicit feedback, and otherwise communicate with fellow members.

In October 2024, the GRA published Moving Forward: Issues that Matter in Cities, Regions, and States, a compendium of recent research from GRA organizations in policy areas including education, public finance, housing, and infrastructure. The anthology offers a great selection of outstanding GRA member research to those inside and outside the GRA. Members receive free access to this anthology and the opportunity to submit their work to be considered for future editions.