New & Noteworthy
EVALCORP’s 20th Birthday Party
To celebrate EVALCORP’s 20th anniversary, we honored our team at a dinner party filled with delicious food, camaraderie, and lots of smiles. The night began with us mingling and chatting away. We were especially excited to catch up with some of our remote team members. (Our farthest traveler came all the way from North Carolina!)…
Celebrating 20 Years of Partnership at EVALCORP
It is with great pleasure and gratitude that we celebrate our 20th anniversary! Two decades ago, EVALCORP was founded to support those who create safe, healthy, and strong communities by providing sound measurement and data-informed strategies. It has been an incredibly rewarding journey, and we could not have done it without our clients and team.
EVALCORP Team “Adopts a Family” This Holiday Season!
Since 2019, our team has had the opportunity to sponsor a family during the holiday season through our long-term partnership with Waymakers, and their Adopt-a-Family program. This year, we received a moving story about a family who have been victims of family violence. Our team is honored and excited to continue to be part of…
How Communities Can Improve Using an Equity Approach
It seems like there is a never-ending list of health disparities that exist. Those disparities are derived from a complex set of factors, often referred to as social determinants of health. While addressing these disparities at the individual level, it needs to happen at the community level as well. This systematic approach includes improving access…
Employee Spotlight: Elyse Minchen, on Why I Became a Program Evaluator
Going into undergraduate studies, I knew that I wanted to take what I learned to help people. I didn’t know exactly how or what it would look like at first, but the more I learned the more I knew I wanted to provide direct services to those who lack access and resources. To gain experience,…
Happy Tolkien Reading Day!
“He that breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.” So says Gandalf to Saruman, as recounted by him at the Council of Elrond in Chapter 2, Book II of The Fellowship of The Ring. In the context of the story, Gandalf is criticizing Saruman for wanting to…
Employee Spotlight: Breena Li, on Overcoming the Fear of Making Mistakes
In an academic setting, learning consisted of taking notes in lecture halls, doing homework, and taking tests. Up until recently, I’ve mainly learned alone in the comfort of my room. There wasn’t an incentive to learn with others because study groups weren’t productive for me and many of the activities I indulged in, such as…
Celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science
In celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we’d like to recognize EVALCORP’s Founder, President, and Principal Consultant, Kristen Donovan, PhD. A social psychologist with over 30 years of evaluation, measurement, and consulting experience, Kristen founded EVALCORP in 2002 to support safe, healthy, and strong communities throughout Orange County and the State…
Why Use Validated Measures? Part 2
In the previous blog post, I explained why evaluators encourage using a validated survey measure in place of a tailor-made questionnaire. I unpacked what validated measures are and what they can do for an evaluation. This week, I will share how an evaluator selects a validated measure as well as how programs should implement the…