Our team offers services that support organizations’ information, strategy, and community engagement needs. Across all of our services, we blend traditional and creative techniques to help clients advance their impact goals.
Formative + Summative Evaluation
Harder+Company designs and conducts rigorous, mixed-method evaluations that help organizations understand both impact and implementation. Our formative evaluations look at an organization’s activities and operations in order to help them align their plans, the evidence base, and how the work is executed. Our summative evaluation work focuses on the changes that happen as a result of a specific program, strategy, or initiative. Through either approach, our clients typically use findings to make decisions about whether to continue, change, and/or expand their work.
Learning + Developmental Evaluation
Some of the most innovative approaches to advancing social equity and transforming systems are not well served by traditional formative or summative evaluation techniques. Instead, learning-oriented and developmental evaluations embrace complexity, are adaptive to changing context, and provide rapid feedback to support organizations to hone their efforts over time. We offer seasoned staff with the mix of technical, organizational development, and consulting skills necessary to effectively support and guide client efforts.
Strategy Development + Planning
We support clients to articulate their desired results and develop the strategies needed to achieve impact. Often this involves assessing current assets and intended impact; examining where an organization fits within its field; and developing action steps to turn a plan into reality. Our team blends the tools of research and planning to ensure our engagements are rooted in data and draw on diverse perspectives. We also know the importance of aligning stakeholders inside and outside an organization, and are particularly experienced in guiding cross-sector collaboration efforts.
Community Engagement
Harder+Company helps clients engage community members in meaningful, inclusive, and culturally responsive ways. We use a wide range of creative and proven techniques to involve participants in various aspects of the research or planning process. By doing so, we assist clients in learning about the interests, insights, and experiences of community members and help ensure that initiatives are directly relevant to the people they are seeking to benefit.
Capacity Building
Our work frequently involves strengthening the ability of clients and their partners to make good use of data. We do this by helping our clients build specific technical skills; developing tools and processes that lead to improved systems within or across organizations; and conducting organizational assessments. Our goal for every engagement is to leave our clients feeling stronger and more capable than we began working together.