Empowering Impactful Decisions
Impact Research and Third-Party Evaluation for Nonprofits
At Mockingbird Analytics, we understand the profound importance of data-driven decision-making. We approach impact research with a dedicated commitment to uncovering actionable insights. By working with us, you gain a partner with the expertise and resources to elevate your organization's capacity to serve your community more effectively.
Our approach is guided by the principle that every data point tells a story. We're committed to unveiling those stories through an equity-based and healing-centered lens to help you understand community needs, program effectiveness, and the potential for change.
Evaluation isn't a one-size-fits-all service. Where you start depends on your organization's stage, the programs you're running, and how far along your data collection already is. Whether you need a full assessment of your current evaluation methods or targeted support on a specific piece, we'll help you figure out the right entry point for where you are right now.
Our Evaluation Services Include:
Think of this list as the full range of evaluation support we offer, not a package you have to buy in full. Where you start depends on your organization's stage, your current programs, and what your data collection process looks like today.
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Start Here If You're Not Sure Where to Begin. Our Evaluation Methods Review is an expert, outside review of how your organization currently measures impact. We examine your existing tools, surveys, intake forms, and outcome tracking, through both research and a practical lens, then deliver a written report on strengths, gaps, and misalignments between your programs and your measurement strategy. You'll also get a Mixed-Methods Research Proposal tailored to your organization, a review of your existing survey instruments, and an implementation roadmap sized to your team and timeline.
It's the fastest way to find out exactly where to focus before committing to a larger evaluation engagement.
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A Literature Review and Needs Assessment form the foundation for impactful research. By understanding the past and present dynamics of your community, we empower you to craft programs that address real, pressing concerns. Our approach includes:
Extensive Literature Review: We delve into existing research, pinpointing trends, best practices, and gaps to inform your program's design.
Community Needs Assessment: We collaborate with you to assess the specific needs and circumstances of your community. This step is integral in shaping your program's direction.
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At Mockingbird Analytics, we empower you with the insights needed to make informed decisions. Our meticulous data collection methods, expertly crafted surveys, and tailored metrics provide a complete solution for understanding and measuring the impact of your programs. Our approach includes:
Precise Data Collection: We meticulously collect and analyze data to provide you with accurate insights into the effectiveness of your initiatives.
Custom Survey Creation: Our expert team designs tailored surveys to capture the specific data you need, enabling you to gain deep insights from your target audience.
Metric Creation: We craft meaningful metrics and performance indicators, aligning them with your goals and objectives.
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At Mockingbird Analytics, we help you understand and communicate the impact of your programs effectively. Our reporting goes beyond numbers and compliance; it's about celebrating achievements, uncovering insights, and crafting meaningful narratives that resonate with your stakeholders, funders, and community.
Whether you need to put together a report for a funder, impact infographics, or create an annual report that showcases your accomplishments, we're here to support you.
We invite you contact us to learn more about our impact assessment and reporting services and explore here some of the beautiful reports we've created for clients in the past. Discover how we've helped organizations like yours articulate their success and demonstrate the positive change they've initiated.
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Original research allows you to address emerging community needs proactively, stay ahead of trends, and ensure your programs are relevant. Policy and Equity Analysis is vital in creating lasting, positive impacts by addressing disparities and ensuring an anti-racist and anti-oppressive lens in all initiatives. Our approach includes:
Original Research: We conduct in-depth investigations and craft customized research projects to uncover the challenges and opportunities within your community. This research serves as the bedrock for pioneering new and impactful programs.
Policy & Equity Analysis: Our team critically examines policies, identifies avenues for change, and evaluates their impact. By promoting justice and inclusion, we guide you in creating programs that benefit all members of your community.
Tell us where you are, and we'll help you figure out the right starting point.
When Your Funder Requires a Third-Party Evaluator
Many federal grant programs, including those from the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Labor, and NIH-funded initiatives, require or strongly prefer that grantees work with an independent, external evaluator to assess program outcomes.
Mockingbird Analytics serves as that outside evaluator. We build the evaluation plan, collect and analyze data, and prepare the formative and summative reports your funder expects, working alongside your team.
If you're preparing a proposal that calls for a third-party evaluator, we can join as your evaluation partner.
Our Impact Research Agenda and Approach
We believe evaluation is never neutral. How you measure impact reflects what you value, and we build our research approach around equity, healing, and genuine partnership with the communities you serve. That means we don't just hand you a report and walk away. We work alongside you, from the questions we ask to the way we share results, so the findings actually reflect the communities behind them.
Our research agenda is grounded in understanding the roots of inequity and the strategies communities use to build lasting, self-determined change. Dr. Marisa Turesky leads our research team, bringing over a decade of experience in participatory research and evaluation. As activist-scholars, we work alongside partners and clients to strengthen their own capacity for leadership and change, not just deliver findings and move on.
We tailor our methods to each client's programs and goals, often drawing on approaches like Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR), which engages the community as a partner in the research process rather than simply its subject. One method we regularly use within this framework is Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR), which centers the lived experience of women and gender minorities in understanding systemic power inequities.
Watch our webinar on FPAR to see how this method works in practice.
Some of the projects we have worked on:
Our team has led program evaluations, policy analysis, and applied research across a wide range of issue areas, including racial impact statements, reparations research, prison abolition program evaluations, economic justice impact research, restorative justice program evaluation, equity-based organizational evaluation plans, and social-emotional learning evaluations. This work has informed peer-reviewed publications examining how identity and lived experience shape access to places and services.
Building Trauma-Informed Nonprofits
Learn more about our partnership with Project Hope California to create healing-centered workplace policies for nonprofits.
LA County Decarceration Policies
We led the evaluation of decarceral policies based on Justice’s LA’s organizing strategy and vision during COVID-19.
National Reparations Funding Report
Learn more about our work with the City of LA’s Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department and the Reparations Advisory Commission.
Case Study: South Los Angeles Child & Family Well-Being Initiative
Learn more about how our evaluation team helped a coalition of community programs uncover a barrier they didn't know they had, and what they did about it.
We've partnered with community-based organizations, government agencies, and research institutions alike, including the Equity Research Institute, the United Ways of California, the SELA Collaborative, the Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department, Aging Places, Aging People (APAP), and the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archive. Interested in working with us?
Want to Learn More About How Mockingbird Analytics Can Work with Your Nonprofit?
We're more than consultants, we're partners in the work of understanding and strengthening what your programs actually deliver. Whether you need an outside evaluator, a clearer measurement strategy, or help telling the story of your results, we're here to help you get there.