The sessions below are part of our Ask An Evaluator series, a free and interactive session designed to quick, practical tips on common evaluation challenges and provides dedicated time for participants to ask their own questions and get real-time advice from evaluation experts. We start with a 15-minute presentation followed by 45 minutes Q&A and real-time technical assistance. To ensure a meaningful exchange, attendance is limited to 20 representatives, and registration is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Upcoming Sessions:

August – No session

September 18, 12 pm ET – What Should We Measure When We Have Almost No Time?
In this session, we will cover one of the most common challenges small nonprofits face: figuring out what to measure when your time and capacity are limited. We will discuss how to identify the few measures that truly matter, how to tell the difference between data you need and data that just sounds useful, and how to make sure what you collect is connected to real decisions — not just funder reports.

October 23, 12 pm ET – Are you measuring within your sweet spot?
In our October session, we will explore one of the most important measurement questions nonprofits face: are you measuring within your sweet spot? We’ll discuss how to assess whether your current metrics truly reflect your work, how to find alignment between what funders require and what you need to learn, and how to make sure your data tells the story of your real impact.

November 13, 12 pm ET – What to say when the data is mixed?
During our session, we will get into a thorny issue the evaluation field doesn’t talk about enough: what to do when your results are complicated, mixed, or just not what you hoped for. We will discuss how to report partial progress honestly, how to separate implementation challenges from gaps between what you planned and what happened, and how to use mixed findings as a tool for learning and improvement rather than a problem to explain away.

Eligibility (Please Read):

These sessions are open to nonprofits and grassroots organizations only. To support accurate registration and organizational verification, participants are asked to register using an organizational or corporate email address.

If you are a small nonprofit without an organizational email address (e.g., your email ends in Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, etc.), please contact Toby Bray (tbray at communityscience dot com), and we will work with you to verify your organization through an alternative method.

If you receive an invitation and are unable to attend, please get in touch with tbray at communityscience.com so we can remove you from the session and offer your spot to another organization. Please note that registrants who do not attend without prior notice will not be invited to future sessions.

Your Evaluator for This Session