Evaluation and Applied Research

Evaluation is so much more that just a compliance check.

Modern evaluators analyze program results and resource utilization to better understand what works and what doesn’t, to drive strategy, and to support program planning and improvement. Evaluation is truly an invaluable tool for learning. 

LEAP Consulting brings a breadth of experience evaluating a range of programs. Our comprehensive and wide-ranging experience is to your advantage when evaluating your innovative programs. Having worked in all kinds of program contexts and with diverse stakeholders, we hope to be your newest asset. 

LEAP Evaluation experts can perform the following:

• Evaluation Design (formative, process and summative evaluations), making decisions about which data to collect, from whom, and at which point. 
• Quantitative Data Collection, e.g., phone or online surveys
• Qualitative Data Collection, e.g., key informant interviews or focus groups
• Database Management and Data Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data
• Reporting Results in various formats appropriate for multiple audiences 
• Specialized Community-centered Methods like Social Network Analysis, Community-Based Participatory Action Research, Community Assessments, Theory of Change & Logic Models

Training and Capacity Building

Developing or honing your staff’s evaluation and community research skills can bring pivotal new competencies to your team. It will allow you to meet your own research and data collection needs when hiring an external evaluator is impossible.

LEAP can provide training and tools for your staff to engage meaningfully in evaluation. We offer one-time or extended training sessions for your staff in person or virtually. We specialize in:

• Outreach, Community Engagement, & Community Facilitation
• Evaluation Capacity Building
• Trainings, Webinars, & Online Learning Modules
• Curriculum Development
• Establishing Learning Objectives
• Facilitating & Mobilizing community or campus partnerships, collaborations and networks

Reports & Data Visualization

• Impact Reports
• Policy Briefs
• Literature Reviews
• White Papers
• Action Plans
• Funder Reports
• Strategic Plans
• Process Documentation
• Theory of Change
• Resource Guides

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Design evaluation process to reveal structural and systems-level inequity
• Formalize DEIJ within your organizational culture
• Increase diversity among your board and staff
• Build DEIJ capacity at all levels of the organization
• Foster meaningful, culturally appropriate relationships with marginalized communities 
• Ensure communities involved in the project benefit (and are not harmed) 
• Build support and clarity for DEIJ grantmaking goals, evaluation, and processes

• Advancing Informal STEP Learning (AISL)
• Advanced Technological Education (ATE)
• Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)
• Improving Undergraduate Stem Education: education and human resource (IUSE: EHR)
• Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST)
• NSF Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM)
• Partnership for International Research and Education (PIRE)
• Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

Our services don’t just stop at evaluation and research. We perform

• Needs Assessments
• Surveys, Focus Groups, & Interviews
• Dashboards to Display your Data
• Strategy Development