Supporting early childhood program development, evaluation, scaling
We provide program-specific measurement and evaluation support to early childhood programs. With expertise in early childhood development, we bring a unique perspective to our work with programs and organizations across the early childhood ecosystem, including health care, child welfare, community-based and national nonprofits, foundations, and government institutions. Our team empowers early childhood organizations to accelerate their own impact by harnessing measurement and evaluation practices to fit the needs of their communities.
Our approach prioritizes:
- Co-creation with stakeholders across the field of early childhood development to facilitate shared learning and understanding to ensure a well-balanced and informed approach.
- Precision in measurement and reporting of outcomes to determine who benefits most and least from defined organizational activities.
- We support organizations’ continuous improvement by emphasizing feasible and meaningful data collection and synthesis over multiple cycles.
Contact Mari Strand Cary to learn more about our Measurement & Evaluation support.
Examples of Our Work
- Thought partnership: Our team takes a human-centered, highly interactive approach to our work with clients and their stakeholders. We understand the early childhood organizations we work with have deep knowledge of their communities and their programs that is critical to developing, evaluating and improving those programs and their organizations. Our work in this area includes Theory of Change support, strategic planning with leadership, workgroups, and committees, and leading learning communities and communities of practice.
- Program development and scaling support: With an understanding of the organization’s drivers and priorities, our team is well-positioned to search for, identify, and evaluate resources and practices being used in field, as well as gaps in services and opportunities for organizations to engage more deeply with their stakeholders. Our work includes needs assessments, road mapping for growth, and developing monitoring and evaluation plans for continuous quality improvement.
- Measurement and evaluation guidance: Whether a client’s focus is continuous program improvement, understanding impact overall or for particular subgroups, or highlighting particular success stories, we help them ask the right evaluation questions and use the right tools in a meaningful way to meet their objectives. Our work with organizations includes developing implementation and fidelity guides, and developing, executing, and analyzing measurement and evaluation plans.
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Partner With Us
Are you a government agency, foundation, or nonprofit looking for smart public policies and advisement in early childhood development? Learn more about how partnering with ICS can help young children and families thrive.