Whether you are a funder or a nonprofit, the biggest evaluation issue you face is not your lack of impact. Rather, it's knowing how to talk about, or measure, your impact. In a time when public scrutiny of nonprofits is at an all-time high, we're proud to be a leader in the evaluation field, developing techniques that work for the artists and the organizations that support them. We've published books and won national prizes in evaluation, and we teach and lecture about it.

Our Laboratory for Arts Evaluation™ is designed to allow you to choose the best mix of training and services. Our progressive approaches to evaluation are tailored both to unique artistic missions and to requirements in this area of growing importance.

Our clients learn about the ways in which their programs make a difference through a range of options. We design, conduct, analyze and present evaluations involving focus groups, interviews, surveys and other qualitative and quantitative research methods. The firm's own customized survey software is integrated into its website. By administering surveys online, the firm provides clients a professional, yet anonymous way to gather information.

• Commissioned to write Singing Our Praises. This book, which received a top national award, demystifies evaluation by highlighting examples of how arts presenters have used it to learn about their success. Real-life stories, guides and techniques from other fields are used to train practitioners to design their own evaluations, many of whom have endorsed the book.
  
• Conceptualized and developed content for the website IMPACT Arts for the Arts and Civic Engagement Impact Initiative of Animating Democracy at Americans for the Arts (AFTA). As one of their national advisors, we provided concepts, text and guidance for the website, and created an extensive database of resources and tools that can help funders and arts organizations better evaluate and report the social and civic outcomes of their work. View some of our evaluation guides for arts and social impact.
  
• Commissioned to write a field study on the artist Rha Goddess and the Hip Hop Mental Health Project, to explore methods of evaluating audience response to Low, an emotionally charged performance that tells the story of a young woman's descent into the mental illness and inability to access the healthcare system. This case study contrasts methods with another research study measuring changes in attitude toward mental health as a result of viewing the performance. As a part of the field study, conducted an evaluation of the performance at University of Maryland, College Park's Clarice Smith Center. Field study to be released in late summer 2009.
• Conducted evaluation on behalf of the Covenant Foundation of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange's Small Dances About Big Ideas, a theatrical work that takes a challenging look at mass violence, the scope of human compassion, and the capacity of the law to address genocide and other systematic atrocities. The evaluation asked Jewish educators, classroom teachers, and general audiences in three cities about their reactions and how they were moved by Small Dances-sometimes to tears, sometimes to greater insight and sometimes to actionÑthrough unique survey instruments.
• Developing an evaluation framework and collecting data for the Sitar Arts Center, a multidisciplinary arts education center for children and youth in Washington, DC. The evaluation aims to learn about the degree to which the Sitar Center makes a difference in the lives of its students and their families.
• Offered customized trainings on evaluation to: Sitar Arts Center (DC); Southern Arts Federation (Atlanta); Creative Campus Initiative, University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa); University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee); and Kenan Institute for the Arts (Winston-Salem).
  
• Completed a national comparative study on dance communities for The Pew Charitable Trusts in order to increase understanding of issues facing the dance field and inform policy decisions.
  
• Directed a multi-year documentation and evaluation process for local arts partners sponsored by the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds in order to build their collective awareness of best practices and lessons learned in conducting long-term residencies.
  
• Grant Tracking and Evaluation. Designed a database system that tracks the impact of grant making, allowing funders to gather, compare, search, transmit and assess information. This system has been adapted to the needs of funding programs, such as the NPN's residency program and the National College Choreography Initiative. Provides support to organizations in measuring and reporting their impact to private and public funders.
  
• Developed the curriculum for Participatory Evaluation, a course at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters' Winter Institute in January, 2000, in conjunction with Innovation Network, in order to increase organizations' understanding and skills in these important areas.

Learn how effective evaluation can assist you in building funding for your work.