Consulting and Capacity-Building

We consult on a variety of issues ranging from the use of technology in schools, to organizational planning and development, to scaling up interventions. By helping to develop program logic models and frameworks for generating actionable data, we help to support decision-making, program development, reporting to stakeholders, and organizational learning. Our capacity-building services also include working closely with clients to develop internal capacity to set, monitor, and evaluate progress towards goals.

Selected examples of our Consulting and Capacity-Building projects are below. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your project with you and to provide you with more information about our tailored services. Please Contact Us to schedule a free 30-minute Q&A session with a consultant.

Selected Projects Include

  • Photo courtesy of spacedust2019 via CC licensing.

    California Academy of Sciences

    Over a 4 year period, Rockman et al has conducted more than a dozen evaluation and research projects with the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco using onsite and online surveys, visitor intercepts, interviews, focus groups and observations with members and visitors. Evaluation projects include formative and summative evaluation of exhibits, planetarium shows, museum websites, and K-12 school field trip programs, as well as summative evaluation of teacher professional development programs, curriculum kits and evening programs for adults. REA has also delivered research studies on capacity building, institutional partnerships, and organizational development.

  • Photo: BAVC News

    Bay Area Video Coalition Bridges to STEM Careers

    REA conducted a formative and summative evaluation of Bay Area Video Coalition’s Bridges to STEM Careers, a three-year Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program Improvement Project designed to enhance the relevance of technician education in Computer Science and Multimedia. The project targeted two-year college students, their families and their college and workplace mentors. The ultimate goal of the Bridges project was to keep traditionally underrepresented and low-income students in the STEM pipeline by demystifying the process of preparing for a STEM career through internships and informational videos from past internship participants.

  • Photo: Hack the Hood

    Hack the Hood

    REA worked with Hack the Hood to develop a self-evaluation framework for collecting, analyzing and reporting qualitative and quantitative data to inform stakeholders and program development at scale.

  • Photo courtesy of Wars via CC licensing.

    Water: Exploring Science in the Studio

    In collaboration with California College of the Art (CCA), Rockman et al conducted an evaluation of “Water: Exploring Science in the Studio,” including course development and delivery processes, and instructional and assessment elements. The broad objective of this project was to increase the ability of CCA students to interact with scientists within the context of a series of four design courses. REA developed and administrated online surveys to CCA art faculty and visiting science faculty who collaborated on the development and delivery of these courses.

  • Photo courtesy of Wesley Fryer via CC licensing.

    Media-Based Learning Science in Informal Environments

    Rockman et al was commissioned by the National Research Council to write a paper on adult’s media-based learning in informal science. The paper includes a comprehensive review of evaluation reports and articles on informal science education media and applicable learning theories. Specifically, we looked at different types and examples of evidence of learning from informal science education media and explore whether they were different from other types of media or other types of informal science education experiences. We also examined differences in the impact that media has on people at different points during the lifespan. Finally, we reported on the challenges that face researchers and evaluators as they seek to determine the impact of media on learning.

    Report: Media-Based Learning Science in Informal Environments Commissioned Paper

  • Common Sense Media

    Rockman et al conducted an evaluation to help Common Sense Media (CSM) review existing instruments and evaluation methodologies in the Parent Media Education program and to measure the outcomes of CSM’s educational programs in terms of parent and teacher satisfaction and implementation.