“We believe that a strong evaluation culture is a powerful tool for learning and growth— and that these tools should not be reserved for high-resourced organizations or elite institutions. ”
About Us
AS Community Consulting specializes in making evaluation accessible, meaningful, and transformative.
We believe that a strong evaluation culture is a powerful tool for learning and growth and that these tools should not be reserved for high-resourced organizations or elite institutions. Not only are we committed to equitable, culturally responsive consulting practices, but believe in the power of information creation and ownership in facilitating social justice, equity, and meaningful change.
We are passionate about using research-based evaluation methods to create a more equitable society through supporting organizations on the ground learn about their work to do it better, communicate to their communities, and cultivate ownership of their own narratives.
Philosophy
AS Community Consulting believes that information is an important and powerful tool in social change. We aim to harness this potential by supporting those working on the ground in their communities integrate evaluation practices that are easy and useful, and that allow them to maintain control of how information is gathered and used in their communities and beyond.
Guiding Principles
Accessibility
Evaluation doesn’t need to be expensive, difficult, or complicated. There are countless ways that even small organizations can creatively integrate simple activities into their work that will not only help to communicate their message and demonstrate impact, but can ultimately make their work easier. We support organizations with building these evaluation cultures, teach and lead workshops focused on these principles, and offer competitive sliding scale rates for all of our services.
Our commitment to evaluation accessibility also involves developing partnerships with funding agencies that support organizations working on the ground. We support foundations, universities, state and local governments, and for-profit companies in developing strategies to support organizational learning through evaluation.
Social Justice and Equity
We believe that evaluation can be a powerful tool for social justice and in creating a more equitable world. Not only does evaluation support community organizations in having a more powerful impact on their communities, but as the saying goes, “knowledge is power.” Through evaluation, those working on the ground in their communities can have the power to define what information is important and valuable to know, have ownership over how that information is collected and interpreted, and tell their own stories. Learning how to integrate research-based processes into their work, and knowing how to talk about it, can also lend credibility to communities and groups that are often blocked from these institutions. This is a small but powerful tool in dismantling the systems and structures that uphold inequity.
For more information about our research-based methodologies and how we developed our approach, meet us on our Geek Out page.
Our Approach
Our work centers on a “head and heart” approach to consulting. Backed by years of experience in research-based evaluation methods and techniques, we use an intuitive, community-focused approach to building collaborative relationships that honor the community knowledge, lived experiences, and real-world expertise of our partners. Our role is to support, offer resources and perspective, and strengthen existing community assets.
We work directly with organizations and groups working in their communities as well as the institutions that support them. Our clients include nonprofit organizations, schools, hospitals, state and local governmental agencies, universities, foundations and other funding entities, and for-profit companies focused on social good.
Learn more about our services on the What We Offer page or schedule a free consultation!
