Evaluation

At TCC Group, measurement for learning defines our philosophy and approach to evaluation — learning that enhances capacity and effectiveness, improves programs, and leads to greater social impact. We not only strive to track the "bottom line," but also to evaluate and learn from the process of getting there. Our work supports data collection across a spectrum and includes assessing an organization's needs related to its leadership, management, adaptive, and technical capacity. The real value of measurement, we believe, is in its intended purpose and deliberate use. Based on our extensive experience, we are able to understand the unique challenges and opportunities in the sector. We bring the perspective of our evaluation expertise, broad experience, and the enthusiastic commitment to get the job done right. Our core services include:

• Evaluation Planning and System Design — We assist in designing evaluation systems, frameworks, and processes to address an organization's information needs. Taking an inclusive approach, we assess our clients' capacity for collecting and managing data, implementing evaluations, and providing recommendations on how to leverage their evaluation capacity to maximize organizational and programmatic results.
• An R&D Approach to Evaluation — Our process ensures that organizational leaders and key stakeholders receive and use accurate, timely, and rigorously collected data to not only determine "if something worked," but most importantly, pinpoint the specifics of "what worked, for whom, and under what conditions." This requires comfort and experience working with a variety of stakeholders involved in a particular project and the ability to analyze data from multiple vantage points.
• Cluster Evaluation — We have experience designing and implementing evaluations of multiple programs across many organizations, usually as a part of a major funding strategy. Typically, cluster evaluations derive "big picture" findings about what has been accomplished and learned from a group of organizations to inform an initiative's ongoing design and planning efforts.
• Evaluation of Capacity-Building Initiatives — TCC Group is a leader in designing and conducting evaluations of major capacity-building initiatives. We evaluate campaigns to strengthen nonprofit organizations led by funders, management support organizations, and other infrastructure-building groups. TCC Group uses a widely tested, specialized set of tools, including the Core Capacity Assessment Tool (CCAT), a comprehensive online survey that measures individual, organizational, and community capacity to achieve greater impact.
• Evaluation of Policy / Advocacy Initiatives — TCC Group is among a select number of evaluators engaged in measuring policy and advocacy efforts. While assessing the results of such initiatives may seem abstract or complex, TCC Group has created effective models to document progress and results in both domestic and international settings.
• Evaluation of Collaborative Arrangements — TCC Group has developed an innovative approach to evaluating collaborative networks and coalitions that takes into account the necessity of measuring the outcomes, as well as the collaborative's performance and the value of partnership engagement. TCC Group helps networks and coalitions strengthen their relationships through the evaluation process and explore the detailed indicators of their efficiency and effectiveness.

Click here to contact Jared Raynor, Director of Evaluation, to discuss our evaluation work.

See our results.

Cases In Point

The California Endowment hired TCC Group to conduct an evaluation of their general support for policy and advocacy organizations. TCC Group developed a model of organizational effectiveness associated with policy and advocacy and evaluated the ways that general support funding enhances the capacity of these organizations to conduct their advocacy work. In addition to the evaluation, the result of the project included two papers co-published with the Endowment on organizational capacity for policy and advocacy organizations and use of general support funding for advocacy organizations.

Gap Foundation, Inc. engaged TCC Group to research, design, implement, and evaluate a number initiatives, many of which focus on leadership development as well as college and career planning. After working with the Foundation to set goals, measurable outcomes, and indicators of success, TCC conducted multi-year evaluations to assist leaders in programmatic decision making.

Over a three-year period, TCC Group worked with the Nonprofit Service Center to evaluate their capacity-building program which included three primary strategies — leadership development and supports, specific skills training, and capacity-building grants. The results of the evaluation were used to improve the program, increase and enhance recruitment, and bolster ongoing fundraising strategies.