The NW Panel on School Policy $($the Panel$),$ a nonprofit organization, was founded in $1982$ by a coalition of nonprofit agencies in NW$.$ In $1996,$ after several years of operating with only an oversight board of directors, the organization added a limited staff. The Panel also moved away from longitudinal research and expanded its focus to educational policies and practices, allowing the agency a broader voice on many school improvement issues. This was accomplished by defining, evaluating, supporting and advancing effective practices through short$-$term qualitative assessments, applications of research and public forms. There is one or two full$-$time staff and between four and ten consultants and one part$-$time staff.

As is true with many nonprofit agencies, the Panel faced its greatest challenges in two areas$$budget and staffing. An important issue in staffing the Panel was how to attract and keep talented, qualified individuals in part$-$time positions in an organization that could not pay what might be earned in another industry. An additional staffing challenge centered on retaining individuals dedicated to education, a field unquestionably conscious of credentials and formal training, but in which budgets do not permit salaries that compensate those credentials.