Overview
The Carsey Institute’s evaluation program serves the evaluation and applied research needs of nonprofit organizations, foundations, state agencies, and the federal government. Our mission is to conduct rigorous program evaluation and applied research that address the needs and challenges of low- and moderate-income families and their communities. As part of an institution of higher learning, our program also serves as a training ground in evaluation methods for undergraduate and graduate students.
Our evaluators have extensive experience helping organizations develop program logic models; identifying appropriate evaluation questions, indicators, and measures; monitoring and evaluating program implementation, results, and outcomes; and conducting applied research for clients. We choose the methods we believe are the most appropriate and realistic, given the client’s resources. The evaluation staff has expertise in the design and use of surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, and document review, as well as both statistical and qualitative data analysis techniques. Our goal is to produce an evaluation that is useful, high quality, and cost-effective.
Examples of past evaluations and applied research include:
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The manufactured housing program of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund
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The New Hampshire Healthy Kids program for the Endowment for Health
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The collaboration model of the Community Campus in Portsmouth
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Several initiatives of the Family Resource Center at Gorham (JOBPro job training program; Coos Family Support collaboration; Supporting Work initiative)
Selected current projects
Neil & Louise Tillotson Fund Investment Initiative Evaluation
An evaluation of the fund’s initiative to support development of economic prosperity in northern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine by investing in two areas: entrepreneurship and business development and early childhood development. The project also includes providing technical assistance to fund staff and grantees for the development of logic models to guide project planning and the development of project evaluation measures.
Evaluation of the Northeastern States Research Cooperative (NSRC)
An evaluation of the NSRC research grant program to assess Northern Forest region stakeholder perceptions of the program’s responsiveness to regional needs. Specifically the evaluation is collecting data from grantee researchers and from users and potential users of their research across the region about the relevance of the NSRC research focus and the strategies it and its grantees currently use to disseminate project results. Methodology includes surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
Comprehensive Evaluation of Bonnie CLAC (Car Loans and Counseling)
This is a two-year longitudinal process and outcome evaluation of the Bonnie CLAC program funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Bonnie CLAC is a nonprofit organization providing car buying assistance, low interest loans, and temporary transportation to low income and vulnerable individuals in New England through financial fitness courses and personal coaching. The evaluation includes a process component and a mixed methods quasi-experimental comparison group design comparing program clients with non-clients for financial, health, and community engagement outcomes
Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Grantee Learning Community Evaluation
The Neal and Louise Tillotson Fund brings together fund grantees from northern Vermont and New Hampshire to build leadership capacity, collaboration, and knowledge about each other and the North Country region in which they work. This evaluation includes a pre- and post-survey and participant interviews with participants to analyze and draw conclusions about developing social networks and project outcomes.
Research for the National Rural Assembly
The Carsey Institute is conducting baseline research for the National Rural Assembly, an annual gathering of organizations and individuals committed to strengthening rural America. Using a survey of participants and key informant interviews of congressional staffers, we are providing feedback to the National Rural Assembly about the value and use of the Assembly’s work.
Publication links
Evaluation of Bonnie CLAC Outcomes: Carsey Institute Research Report
Contact information
For more information about our evaluation program, please contact Dr. Barbara Wauchope, director of evaluation, at barb.wauchope@unh.edu or (603) 862-1235.