Learning and Evaluation

See what is working, and show it.

Measurement does not have to be complicated or resource intensive. We scope it to what your initiative needs, see what is working, show it to the people who will ask, and use the lessons next time.

I assess progress, bring in how others have done similar work, and set up tracking your team can keep running on its own.

Nader reviewing evaluation results with a team at a table
The challenge

Everyone asks whether it worked. Few teams can answer.

Funders, boards, oversight bodies, and communities all want to know what the money changed. Without measures agreed early and tracked along the way, the answer gets pieced together in the final months, and the lessons arrive too late to use.

Assess

See what is working and why, with methods sized to your budget and timeline, from rapid reviews to full evaluations and social return on investment.

Learn from others

Bring in what similar initiatives have tried, what worked, and the mistakes to avoid, applied to your own context.

Track and show

Set up measures tied to your reporting requirements, and turn results into stories funders, boards, and communities understand.

How we work

Evidence built with the people who will use it

We define success with your team and partners first, then choose the lightest method that answers the questions you will be asked. Your staff learn to keep the tracking going after the engagement ends.

What we can build together
  • Evaluation plan, logic model, and theory of change
  • Success measures and metrics, defined with partners
  • Monitoring and tracking system tied to your reporting
  • Scans of what similar initiatives have learned
  • Social return on investment (SROI) analysis
  • Data stories, dashboards, and interactive explainers
  • Briefings and reports for funders, boards, and leadership
  • Learning sessions that feed lessons back into the plan
What changes

What you get, and what it makes possible

What you get
Evidence
A clear view of what works, ready to report
Lessons
What others learned, applied to your context
Tracking
Measures your team can keep running
What changes
  • Reporting ready when it is due
  • Decisions backed by evidence
  • Lessons used while there is time to adjust
  • Results funders and communities can see
  • More trust with partners and the public
In practice

Evidence people can see and use

Theory of change for We Prosper Together, from activities to outcomes to impact
We Prosper Together: a theory of change built with Valley Vision and partners
A scoring sheet held up during a partner learning session
Partners scoring progress together during a learning session
Opening screen of an interactive explainer for the SHCLA model: Meet Marcus. Help build him a home.
Turning a theory of change into a game: an interactive explainer of the SHCLA model
Partners in discussion around a round table
Partners agreeing on goals and measures around the table
Preview of The Triangle one-page summary

Start with your initiative

Tell me what you need to show, to whom, and by when. We will scope the evaluation around it.