Four members of Families First’s staff—Ashlan Speck, Karen Osborne, Maureen O’Brien, and Aly Dion—are representing Families First in the program. Staff (middle) are pictured here with Sherra Lawrence, Senior Evidence Analyst (far left), Charles E. Carter, Jr., Senior Evidence Director (far right), and Erika Van Buren, Vice President of Evaluation, Learning and Strategic Impact at First Place For Youth (second from the right).
Families First is excited to announce our collaboration with Project Evident!
Project Evident’s mission is to build the data and evidence capacity of social sector practitioners. They aim to put practitioners at the center of the evaluation process, allowing us to take the lead in evidence-building decisions.
With support from the Barr Foundation, Project Evident hosts the Talent Accelerator, a 6-month cohort-based learning model that helps organizations build their evidence capacity. The Talent Accelerator uses a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens to strengthen evidence building in the social sector.
After completing an interview process, Families First was selected to be one of eight organizations to participate in the spring 2020 cohort of the Talent Accelerator. During the engagement, staff will take part in the program’s four modules: Foster a Culture of Learning, Theory of Change, Data Collection and Management, and Data Reporting and Visualization. Staff will collaborate in large-group sessions and receive one-on-one and paired coaching with Project Evident’s expert staff.
Like Families First, Project Evident believes that programs must have meaningful and equitable results for communities. As we work to refine our evaluation systems, we are excited to help Project Evident carry out their vision to create a “new generation of evidence” that is practitioner-led, embraces research and development, and elevates the community’s voice.
