Meet the Local Evaluation Firms: Small Organizations and Independent Consultants

Are you a student or an evaluation professional looking to explore evaluation consulting?  Do you work for a nonprofit, foundation, or government organization that is looking for evaluation/research consultants to partner with?  Are you just curious about the consulting landscape in Minnesota and western Wisconsin?  If so, please join us for second of two Meet the Local Evaluation Organizations events, with a focus on Small Organizations (less than 5 employees) and Independent Consultants.

Back by popular demand, MNEA is hosting a virtual event series to introduce our members to local evaluation firms and independent consultants, representing some that are women-owned and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) owned businesses and organizations. In these events you will learn about what each organization does and what they offer to the evaluation community in our region. You will also get an opportunity to speak one on one with representatives from organizations and firms to ask them questions and make connections.

This event is the second of two events and will be held on October 14.  It features six of the smaller firms in our area, with a wide range of focus areas and expertise.  If you would like to learn more about larger organizations in our region, please join us on October 7 for the first event in the series, Meet the Evaluation Organizations: Large Firms.  You can register for that event here.

This event is free to members and non-members, but pre-registration is required.

The organizations featured at our October 14 event are:

Coco Canary Consulting, Inc.
http://cococanary.com/

Coco Canary is an evaluation firm that uses community-centric and culturally responsive practices. We help our clients define their purpose, describe their impact, and communicate their results through data storytelling and creative reporting. We deeply care about social justice and recognize the systematic structures in place that harm BIPOC communities. This is why we use a culturally responsive framework and a racial equity lens in all the work we do. It is important to hold ourselves and our clients accountable. We do this by educating when we can, pushing back when needed, and speaking up when necessary.

Community Research Solutions
www.community-research.solutions/

Community Research Solutions is a Twin Cities-based woman-owned community research and evaluation firm. While we have only one employee (who brings 20+ years of experience at a large firm), we draw on an ever-increasing team of partners, collaborators, and contractors. Project types, topics, and methods vary widely, though we specialize in child mental health and well-being. Current and recent projects have been conducted with the State of MN, counties, community collaboratives, school districts, and non-profits. Areas of growth/focus include equity-driven evaluation, application of knowledge translation and implementation science frameworks, and data-driven decision-making.

Create Good LLC

creategood.squarespace.com

Create Good helps organizations advance systemic change through equity-centered strategy and evaluation. We work with social good organizations to focus equity in their strategic planning and build evaluation capacity that includes systems and root-cause analysis. Principal and Owner, Naaima Khan, is also a member of the Twin Cities Restorative Justice community and advocates for taking a restorative and transformative justice approach when possible.

Rise Research

www.riseresearch.org

Rise Research is a Minneapolis-based research and evaluation firm dedicated to helping communities thrive. Since its founding, Rise has helped innovators, bridge builders, and change makers use data and evidence to solve problems related to housing instability, racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice systems, and inequities in transportation. Past partners include the MN Department of Transportation, Hennepin County, the Twin Cities Medical Society, the Pohlad Family Foundation, Research in Action, and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. While we employ a range of methodological and design approaches, Rise specializes in using developmental evaluation to facilitate systems change.

RJAE Consulting/Hamai Consulting
www.rjaeconsulting.ccom

RJAE Consulting partners with mission-driven organizations by providing a wide array of consulting services, like facilitating processes, helping organizations become more trauma-informed, evaluating programs, implementing programs with fidelity, and communicating impacts to stakeholders. Our services are well-suited for public agencies, schools, school districts, arts organizations, non-profit service organizations, juvenile justice facilities, and departments of corrections.

WithInsight
www.withinsightgroup.com

WithInsight is a consulting firm that facilitates transformational learning in the social sector. We take a people-centered, data-driven approach to continuous improvement. Our work is about building mindsets, systems and practices that support learning so that organizations can achieve their goals and advance their mission. Our clients tend to be nonprofits, foundations and education institutions. We offer a wide variety of services that support organizational learning, all of which are tailored to each client's unique needs and context. Common services performed include evaluation planning, evaluation capacity building, strategic facilitation, and staff coaching/development.