Robert Chaskin is a Chapin Hall research fellow and an associate professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. He oversees Chapin Hall's community research and its International Program for Children's Policy Research. Dr. Chaskin's research focuses primarily on the role of community and community-based efforts to improve the lives of children and families. He has been principal investigator for the national evaluation of the Ford Foundation's Neighborhood and Family Initiative and for a series of studies on approaches to neighborhood-based governance as a mechanism to promote community development and improve the lives of children and families. Dr. Chaskin's work explores how to operationalize and measure the capacity of communities to promote social change and community development. Dr. Chaskin holds a masters in Anthropology and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago.