Our Six-Word Memoirs

Our Six-Word Memoirs
Can you sum up your life in six words? To kick off our recent Evaluation Center retreat, staff were given this challenge. Check out this video to see some powerful examples of six-word memoirs written by 8th graders (!!!). Center staff wrote their six-word memoir on a piece of paper as we entered the room […]

Shining a Spotlight on Our 2022 Graduate Students

Shining a Spotlight on Our 2022 Graduate Students
The Evaluation Center is excited to highlight its 2022 graduate students from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. The Evaluation Center values its reciprocal relationship with student workers, who learn about program evaluation, strategic planning, and data collection and analysis as they assist us with partner projects. A big congrats to Zoey, […]

Virtual Data Parties

Virtual Data Parties
Data Parties are one of our favorite ways to co-construct meaning of data! They make data fun and interactive, and can lead to meaningful conversations and action! The implications of taking lessons learned and translating them into actionable steps toward program improvement has only become more immediate over the past year. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, […]

Our Theme Songs

Our Theme Songs
The December 2020 Evaluation Edge posed a question: “What song would be playing if you walked into a big event or onto a sports field?” The Evaluation Center team wanted to share our theme songs with you, and invite you to email your theme song to evaluation@wustl.edu. Please let us know if you DO NOT […]

Evaluation in a Virtual World: Six Months of Working Remotely

Evaluation in a Virtual World: Six Months of Working Remotely
Our abrupt transition to remote work in March was jarring, but we worked hard to keep everything running as smoothly as possible. Six months later, we are well-settled into a routine of remote work and have learned a few lessons along the way. Lesson 1: Create a working environment at home Our team has found […]

The Evaluation Center Celebrates its 2020 Graduates

The Evaluation Center Celebrates its 2020 Graduates
The Evaluation Center is proud to announce the graduation of three graduate student assistants from The Brown School of Social Work. The Evaluation Center values its reciprocal relationship with student workers who learn about program evaluation, strategic planning, and data collection and analysis as they assist us with client projects. Read on to learn where […]

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri Uses a Data Party to Share Evaluation Findings

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri Uses a Data Party to Share Evaluation Findings
In February 2020, we hosted a data interpretation party with over 60 Big Brother Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri (BBBSEMO) leaders and staff. The Evaluation Center uses data parties to engage stakeholders’ with the evaluation data. Together with our partners, we co-construct interpretations of the data and brainstorm recommendations based on the evaluation findings. The […]

A Needs Assessment of Low-Income and Senior Illinois Residents

A Needs Assessment of Low-Income and Senior Illinois Residents
The Evaluation Center recently completed a community needs assessment for the Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, a not-for-profit corporation that provides free civil legal services to low-income and senior residents in 65 counties in central and southern Illinois. Their core priorities include: safe and affordable housing, family safety and stability, consumer protection, education, healthcare, utilities, […]

Our COVID-19 Response

Our COVID-19 Response
March 31, 2020 Colleagues and Partners, We hope that you, your families, and the communities you serve stay healthy and safe. Like you, we have been watching the COVID-19 pandemic unfold and getting used to our “new normal”. Thanks to the quick action taken by Washington University and Brown School to protect the health of our students, faculty and […]

Coming Home for Good Provides Infographic Inspiration

Coming Home for Good Provides Infographic Inspiration
RELINK is a St. Louis Integrated Health Network (IHN) initiative that combines one-on-one support with referrals to committed community partners in health, mental health, housing, employment, and education. The Evaluation Center has partnered with the RELINK initiative since 2016. IHN and the Evaluation Center recognized the need to share the progress and effectiveness of the […]

The Healthy Schools Toolkit Launched

The Healthy Schools Toolkit Launched
The Healthy Schools Toolkit was launched in summer 2019 after two years of research with two St. Louis school districts. The toolkit is designed to help education leaders build healthy school communities that support the whole child and lead to student success. The Healthy Schools Toolkit is grounded in the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole […]

Evaluation Center Presents at the Healthy Marriage Responsible Fatherhood Conference

Evaluation Center Presents at the Healthy Marriage Responsible Fatherhood Conference
Supporting Healthy Father- Child Relationships: Learnings from a Father-Focused Family Support Program Poster presentation at the 2019 Healthy Marriage Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) Biennial Grantee Conference, Family Frameworks, August 2019 in Washington, D.C Authors: Courtney King, MPH, MSW, Destini Goodwin, MPPA, Amy Sorg, MPH, Cheri Tillis, MS, Nancy Mueller, MPH, Patricia Kohl, PhD, Annie Wolter, BS, Halbert […]

The Evaluation Center Celebrates its 2019 Graduates

The Evaluation Center Celebrates its 2019 Graduates
The Evaluation Center is proud to announce the graduation of seven graduate student assistants from The Brown School of Social Work, as well as Washington University at large. The Evaluation Center values its reciprocal relationship with student workers who learn about program evaluation, strategic planning, and data collection and analysis as they assist us with […]

A conversation with Nikole Lobb Dougherty, co-instructor of the Program Evaluation Post-Master’s Certificate

A conversation with Nikole Lobb Dougherty, co-instructor of the Program Evaluation Post-Master’s Certificate
What is the one thing you want participants to take away from the program? My hope is that participants will walk away with a better understanding of the evaluation planning and implementation process. By the end, they will feel comfortable employing strategies for engaging stakeholders in developing a comprehensive evaluation plan that reflects the priorities […]

“Evaluation gives me energy!” Nancy Mueller talks about her plans for the Program Evaluation Post-Master’s Certificate

“Evaluation gives me energy!” Nancy Mueller talks about her plans for the Program Evaluation Post-Master’s Certificate
Nancy Mueller is the Evaluation Center Director, Assistant Dean for Planning and Evaluation, and a co-instructor. What is the one thing you want participants to take away from the program? I hope that graduates of our certificate program carry with them the realization that real-world evaluation means you will need to adapt and be flexible […]

Evaluation planning for the Relationship and Sexual Violence Assessment Initiative

Evaluation planning for the Relationship and Sexual Violence Assessment Initiative
Smriti Bajracharya, Adjunct Faculty member and Evaluation Associate, presented the evaluation plan for Washington University’s new Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention (RSVP) Center on Tuesday, December 4. She was the plenary speaker at the fall convening of the Relationship and Sexual Violence Assessment Initiative (RSV-AI), titled Innovations in Evaluation of Relationship & Sexual Violence: Expanding […]

The board’s role: Achieving mission effectiveness

The board’s role: Achieving mission effectiveness
Building a “learning organization” is difficult. Many nonprofit organizations struggle with evaluation, implementation of evidence-based practices, and adapting to change. On February 15, 2018, local CEO’s and their Board Chairs participated in a workshop co-facilitated by Evaluation Center Director Nancy Mueller and Barry Rosenberg, Brown School professor of practice. The workshop was hosted by the United […]

Yes, we ARE know-it-alls!

Yes, we ARE know-it-alls!
The Evaluation Center is pleased to announce that our team won the Trivia Night sponsored by the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies on February 16, 2018. We competed against more than twenty teams to take the top prize, a trophy we proudly display in our Brown 105 office. We started off strong […]

Evaluation Center welcomes Mario Morino

Evaluation Center welcomes Mario Morino
The Evaluation Center hosted Mario Morino and Margot Rogers on September 7 and 8 for discussions about the Performance Imperative: A Framework for Social Sector Excellence and their commitment to fostering high-performing nonprofit organizations. They engaged with MSW and MPH students during a luncheon and informal Q and A session. Morino told students that during […]