Dr. Jeffrey J. Rodman
Evaluations & Needs Assessments
Grant Reporting, Grant Compliance, Action Plans, Surveys, Focus Groups, Key Informant, Interviews, Logic Models, Environmental Strategies, and More!
Evaluation Sections for Grant Applications: The evaluation section is where many nonprofit grant proposals fall short. It is also one of the most important sections for grant reviewers. Funding sources want to know that there will be evidence of success, what data you will collect, and the outcomes expected. Data may be quantitative, qualitative, or a combination. As an experienced evaluation team, we are in an ideal position to produce this section of the grant.
Evaluations: We provide both formative and summative program evaluation services to help determine how a program measures up, if it is meeting defined goals, objectives and performance measures, and find methods by which programs can be modified, improved, and transformed for greater effectiveness. Evaluation services are always custom designed to meet the clients individual needs.
Needs Assessments: A needs assessment is part of a planning process, often used for the improvement education institutions, organizations, or communities. Our specialty is in completing comprehensive community needs assessments focused on health, education, and overall community wellness areas such as substance abuse, safety, crime, housing, and other areas. However, we also complete internal organizational needs assessments focused on a specific organization, institution, congregation, or other entity. Needs assessment services may often include other services such as surveys, focus groups, interviews, training events, etc.
Grant Reporting: We provide grant reporting and grant award administration services that simplify the administrative burden of grant funding. Government agencies often require an incredible level of monitoring, compliance reviews, and reporting requirements and many larger foundations have taken a similar bureaucratic approach. Our experience manages this process with ease and efficiency reducing costs and eliminating distractions.
Grant Compliance: Once a grant award has been secured, you need to ensure proper compliance of the grant funding to improve your chances of winning successive rounds of funding. ALL funding comes with strings attached and we help you to manage the strings so they do not become tangled... or worse... strangle your organization. We will help you to understand your obligations, program restrictions, funding restrictions, evaluation and reporting requirements, and other areas.
Action Plans: An action plan is a detailed plan outlining actions needed to reach one or more goals. Action Plans are required by some funding sources and we can develop these according to the funding sources specifications.
Surveys: We use both paper and pencil and online surveys to augment other data collection. Surveys can be custom developed to meet your individual needs or we can administer nationally recognized and standardized surveys to your target audience.
Focus Groups: A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes in relation to a specific topic or set of topics. This is almost always conducted in relation to a specific community, entity, or product and usually multiple groups are conducted targeting different demographic characteristics.
Key Informant Interviews: Key Informant Interviews are interviews conducted with important leaders and influencers in the community. Key Informant Interviews provide detailed, qualitative information about impressions, experiences and opinions. Most often we conduct interviews in person but technology has increasingly allowed for interviews by Skype or video conferencing if available and if the interviewee is comfortable.
Logic Models: A logic model presents a graphic portrayal of how your program is supposed to work and a logical procession of results leading to your desired outcomes. It explains why your strategy is a good solution to the problem at hand and will ultimately lead to the results expected.