Evaluation Services: Meaningful Insights, Lasting Impact
Whether you want to do an evaluation because you are interested in learning and iterating on your work or you have to do an evaluation because a funder is requiring it, I can work with you to answer your burning question, your required questions, and regardless of whether they are burning or required, get data that is meaningful for your work.
My Approach: I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. Evaluations are most effective, valuable, and engaging when they’re collaborative and tailored to your organization’s unique goals and community values. An evaluation should address your questions, reflect your priorities, and provide a framework for continual improvement. That being said, I love a good process. To guide our work, I typically recommend a four-chapter approach. Throughout each phase, I provide tailored options to align with your organization’s needs and constraints, allowing us to craft a rigorous, practical evaluation. My role is to align goals, metrics, and research design while equipping you with the tools, theories, and training to create a lasting impact.
Who I’ve worked with on evaluation: 4.0, College Beyond ImpactEd at the University of Pennsylvania New York City Coalition for Teacher Preparation Student Achievement Partners, Swun Math, and, more!
All my evaluation work starts with a call and a custom proposal.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Logic models. Theories of Change. Conceptual frameworks. Conceptual models. Perhaps you’ve seen these words in grant applications or articles and asked yourself: What’s the difference? Does it matter? Which one should I use?
My take is that these are all more or less the same thing. Generally speaking, theories of change tend to be broader and messier, and logic models more actionable and precise. Conceptual lands somewhere in the middle. At the end of the day, all of these things are tools to map out your work - to paint a picture of how you create change in the world, and spell out what that change is!
Personally, I prefer (and use) logic models because they tend to be more specific and practical.
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Yes. We all do. Logic models are an incredible tool for 1) telling the story of how you create change in the world and 2) getting clarity on what you need to measure when evaluating your success.
When you work with me on an evaluation, you start with a logic model. Period. End of sentence.
You can’t learn whether or not (or how) something works if you don’t first clearly describe how it works. For this reason, they are also often required by funders who want to better understand how your idea works and how you plan on measuring your success.
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I hear you, and… that means you’d be better off with another research partner, which is totally okay. No hard feelings! I’ve tried starting evaluation plans with logic models built by other consultants and ya’ll it just doesn’t work for me — when we create a logic model together or revise the one you already have, we create a shared understanding of your work that is essential to creating the best evaluation possible. And, you want the best right?
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I’m definitely a strategy girl and believe in the importance of building internal capacity for your team. If you have a few people you can commit to partnering, with me, great! Let's do it.
If you're looking for something more strictly outsourced, third-party evaluation style, very year I take on 1-2 full evaluations (including data collection, analysis, and reporting). For those, I typically bring in a larger team from places like the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Delaware.
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No, and here’s why — when I work with people on data collection tools, I focus a lot on coaching — I want you to understand how to create an amazing tool so that in the future you don’t even need me. As part of my process, you will have homework (gasp) so if you don’t already have a draft… you will soon!
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Immediately no. I’m a hands-on, we are in this together, research is a conversation, capacity-building kind of gal. I don’t do “done for you projects” because (1) I think businesses/organizations need to start building this capacity internally. Otherwise, you end up with a one-and-done situation and not a sustainable plan to continue collecting good data; (2) I think your role in research is super important. You are the expert in your organization/business/etc. and have so much value to contribute to this process.
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Yes, all the time!
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I believe in transparency. You can check out my service offering price list here.
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It depends on the project! The minimum is typically around 3-months, and right now, I’m finishing up a 4-year project. If someone wants to do an evaluation, I recommend about 9-12-months to prepare, depending on how many data collection tools you need.
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Grab some time on my calendar or send me an email at hello@kirstenleehill.com.
Words from past clients
“deep technical expertise as well as genuine openness to gracefully push the boundaries of traditional research paradigms”
Kirsten had an incredible impact on the team, program, and culture at 4.0. … I'm deeply grateful for the level of care and investment that she showed at every turn. It is truly rare to find a strategic M&E partner like Kirsten who brings deep technical expertise as well as genuine openness to gracefully push the boundaries of traditional research paradigms. Thanks to Kirsten, 4.0 has a drastically different brand and reputation around right-sized research and rigorous investment.
Hassan Hassan, former CEO, 4.0
“balanced perspective that equally centers equity, practicality, and efficacy.”
Kirsten brings a balanced perspective that equally centers equity, practicality, and efficacy. She is exactly who we needed to push our data collection systems to a new level. We are so thankful to her and look forward to a continued partnership!
Dani Lindo, Analyst, NewSchools Venture Fund
“take complex topics and simplify them”
Kirsten's ability to take complex topics and simplify them for someone like me who is not a researcher by profession really helped the process run smoothly. I've worked with other consultants who I had to constantly stop and ask them to explain concepts in different ways such that someone who isn't steeped in statistics or research would understand. Kirsten is also really aware of the educational landscape and it feels like she authentically cares about children and teaching. This alone separates her from many others I've worked with in the past who care about the numbers but aren't necessarily able to humanize data or "give numbers a name" as Dr. Ivory Toldson would say.
Anonymous School District Employee
Kirsten, your go-to researcher.
Dr. Kirsten Lee Hill is an accomplished researcher and consultant specializing in survey design, data-driven storytelling, and impact evaluation. With a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and over a decade of experience, she supports non-profits, start-ups, schools, districts, government agencies, and philanthropic organizations in capturing and elevating community voices to achieve meaningful impact. Her client list has included The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, New York City Public Schools, NewSchools Venture Fund, and Virgin Unite, to name a few. She is also the author of Ask Better Questions: A Simple Guide to Good Survey Design, a top new release that brings her practical approach to survey design to a wider audience.