working with maggie
What People Ask Me to Do as Their Evaluator
SOUP TO NUTS
Organization X had been growing over the past several years, and the board wanted the staff to demonstrate impact. Staff worked with me for about two years, developing a logic model and evaluation plan, and then developing and implementing evaluation methods. I wrote several types of reports for the organization, each one customized to a particular audience. I also attended several stakeholder meetings and facilitated group conversations about the data and what to do with it.
Clients work with me in various ways, depending on their needs. Here are some mash-up examples of different ways I work with clients.
(This is about my work in evaluation. If you want to know more about my coaching work, check it out here.)
JUST THE NUTS PLEASE
Organization Y had a stack of completed surveys, a deadline for a grant report, and no staff time. The overworked staff asked me to write a slam-dunk report analyzing the quantitative and qualitative data. I produced the report by the deadline and my client breathed a sigh of relief.
Organization Z wanted to implement a new program and learn everything they could along the way. The staff worked closely with me to collect data in the most efficient ways possible, and to immediately use everything they learned. Because their budget was quite limited, we worked as partners at every step. Both the staff and I enjoyed learning and growing together, and the program evolved successfully to its next iteration.
LET'S COOK!
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Do you help with grantwriting or reporting?Sure! Let’s talk. If you involve me in making a logic model or evaluation plan when you write your grant, your grant will be stronger. If you actually need someone to write the thing, I can refer to you my colleagues. As for reporting: yes, yes, yes. If we work together on evaluating your program, it just makes sense to have me write a report for you, or help you write one.
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Do you provide training on how to use measurement tools?Yes. In fact, capacity-building, technical assistance and teaching are among my favorite things related to evaluation. People say that I break things down into bite-size pieces which makes it easy for them to use measurement tools.
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What if my team is not bought in to the idea of doing a program evaluation?Let’s talk to each other, and, if you want, to your team. Sometimes people who aren’t “bought in” are cautious for good reason. Let’s hear what those reasons are. Let’s also ask them if there’s anything that *they* are curious to know about their program.
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Can I write you into a grant?Please do! Contact me so that we can talk about your grant, your prospective funder(s), and their priorities. I can also give you a sense of what funders say about ideal evaluation line items.