Advancing Grant Impact: Evidence-Driven Program Evaluation
The Casagrande Institute for Higher Education Effectiveness partners with colleges, universities, and nonprofit organizations to assess and improve grant-funded initiatives. We turn quantitative and qualitative evidence into insights that strengthen programs, meet sponsor reporting requirements, and support future funding.
Why Rigorous Evaluation Matters
Federal and foundation grants increasingly demand demonstrable impact, continuous improvement, and transparent stewardship of financial resources. A strong evaluation framework helps you align activities with objectives, detect early signals of progress or drift, adjust strategy with timely, practical course corrections, and document credible, auditable evidence for reporting and renewal decisions. Our aim is to provide data-driven insights that support continual improvement, demonstrate value, and help programs achieve grant objectives.
Our Evaluation Framework
Our process begins with a co-developed logic model that links inputs to short- and long-term outcomes. We pair mixed-methods designs with a balanced formative and summative approach—mid-course feedback to refine implementation and end-of-grant analysis to demonstrate impact. Throughout, we manage IRB and compliance needs and engage leaders, staff, participants, and partners so findings are understood and owned.
Measures & Methods
We measure reach, learning, experience, behavior, persistence, and cost. Enrollment and retention trends establish who you serve; pre/post assessments and rubrics capture skill gains; surveys and interviews clarify perceptions and experiences; observations and artifacts document practice; attrition and completion track persistence; and per-participant costs and fidelity analyses gauge efficiency.
Data Governance & Ethics
Our data governance emphasizes IRB determination or approval, clear informed consent, and de-identification with secure, role-based access. When applicable, we apply FERPA- and HIPAA-aware procedures. Predetermined analysis plans and transparent decision rules make the work reproducible and auditable.
What You Receive
- Evaluation plan: logic model, questions, methods, measures, timeline, success criteria
- Formative memos: brief, actionable updates aligned to project milestones
- Dashboards & visuals: clean charts and tables for varied audiences
- Annual/summative reports: concise narratives with evidence and recommendations
- Artifacts: survey instruments, interview protocols, codebooks, and related materials
Benefits of Our Services
Partners gain actionable insight to refine delivery in real time, credible evidence for agency reports and renewal proposals, and a stronger culture of institutional learning that builds stakeholder confidence.
What Sets Us Apart
We bring higher-education experience as researchers, educators, administrators, and evaluators, combining modern quantitative and qualitative methods with data visualizations tailored to Principal Investigators (PIs), project staff, reviewers, and external audiences. Our consultants have supported dozens of institutions, agencies, and nonprofits nationwide, delivering evaluations that inform decisions and withstand scrutiny.
Let’s Evaluate Your Next Grant
Contact us to discuss evaluations for active projects or to shape an evaluation plan for your next proposal.
David J. Bauer, Ph.D.
Director, Casagrande Institute for Higher Education Effectiveness
djbauer@viterbo.edu