Clarify the standard
Test whether MBOK®-aligned language, roles, expectations, and practices help partners implement mentoring with greater consistency.
Research & Pilots
Help Build the Evidence Base for Standards-Based Mentoring
GMI is inviting early institutional partners, pilot sites, funders, and research supporters to participate in a structured validation effort for MBOK®, MLA and MEA assessments, IMPACT operating workflows, and mentoring implementation models.
Research Initiative Brief
Validate before scaling.
GMI's pilot research tests the standard, assessments, operating workflows, and implementation model in real settings before broader institutional adoption.
PurposeValidate standards-based mentoring before scale
Target Scope300-800 participants and 100-200 mentor-mentee pairs
Study FocusMBOK®, MLA/MEA, matching, IMPACT workflows
TimelinePlanned 12-18 month validation initiative
StatusRecruiting early pilot and research partners
Why This Research Matters
Mentoring is widely used, but rarely governed with enough evidence.
Many programs depend on goodwill, local champions, and participation counts rather than a consistent standard for readiness, role clarity, implementation quality, participant support, and measurable outcomes. The pilot identifies the conditions for mentoring to scale responsibly across institutions.
Improve participant support
Evaluate whether MLA and MEA insights can inform readiness, engagement, matching, development planning, and facilitation decisions.
Produce decision-grade evidence
Generate learning that helps institutions and funders understand what worked, what needs refinement, and what conditions support responsible scale.
Research Agenda
What the Pilot Tests
The pilot reduces institutional and funder risk by testing whether GMI's standards, assessment architecture, operating workflows, and program model operate credibly in real mentoring environments.
Evidence Before Scale
A formal learning agenda for standards-based mentoring.
The research layer makes pilot learning visible: participation, completion, engagement, assessment usefulness, implementation fidelity, partner outcomes, and conditions required for broader adoption.
Operational Feasibility
Can mentors, mentees, partners, and administrators use the workflow consistently across different institutional settings?
Assessment Utility
Do the prototype MLA and MEA instruments produce interpretable and useful insight for mentoring development?
Matching and Engagement
Does data-informed, human-reviewed matching improve clarity, expectations, and relationship support?
IMPACT Fidelity
Can the IMPACT lifecycle be delivered consistently enough to support quality assurance and evaluation?
Outcome Measurement
Can the system track participation, completion, satisfaction, milestones, and partner-defined outcomes in useful ways?
Scale Readiness
What GMI refines before broader institutional, REP, certification, or platform deployment
Partner Value
What Pilot Partners Receive
Participation creates practical value for partners while contributing evidence to the development of the GMI ecosystem.
Structured implementation support
Defined participant pathways, mentoring phases, partner roles, setup guidance, and reporting checkpoints.
Early access to assessment workflows
Pilot use of MLA and MEA assessment processes with feedback opportunities for refinement.
IMPACT operating workflow participation
Exposure to operating workflows for intake, assessment inputs, matching support, lifecycle tracking, and reporting.
Evaluation-oriented reporting
Summaries of engagement, completion, satisfaction, milestone progress, implementation lessons, and partner-defined outcomes.
Voice in standards evolution
Partner feedback can inform MBOK®, assessment refinement, platform priorities, and future certification or REP pathways.
Responsible scale insight
Practical learning about what governance, support, data, staffing, and partner conditions are needed before wider deployment.
Ways to Participate
Join the Research Effort
GMI is seeking organizations that can contribute participants, fund validation, support research review, or help connect qualified pilot partners.
Host a Pilot Cohort
Participate as a university, employer, veteran transition partner, workforce program, or institutional mentoring initiative.
Join the PilotFund Pilot Validation
Support the research, assessment refinement, platform testing, reporting structure, and partner implementation effort.
Support the ResearchBecome a Research Partner
Contribute review, evaluation expertise, institutional learning, or research collaboration as the evidence base develops.
Request a DiscussionCurrent Development Status
Pilot targets are planning assumptions, not completed outcome claims.
GMI's findings, standards, assessment models, operating workflows, and credential pathways are expected to evolve through pilot participation, partner feedback, and evidence review.
Participate in the Pilot Research Initiative
Help validate the future standard for mentoring.
Join the early partners helping GMI test what standards-based mentoring requires, how it is supported, and what evidence institutions and funders need before responsible scale.