CASE STUDY
Becoming a More Evidence-Generating Organization: Job Train
Job Train has spent the past fifty plus years working with individuals and businesses in the Bay Area to provide job training and employment opportunities to some of its most vulnerable residents.
As the organization began its engagement with Project Evident, one of the key expressed goals was to pivot to an evidence-generating organization, with the ability to effectively and accurately evaluate the impact of their services.
The team established a broader set of visions and list of goals, further detailing what the organization would need to accomplish in order to consider the undertaking a success. One of the most important markers was the ability to collect data and evaluate the impact of their programs, in an easily reportable way that could be leveraged for growth.
After conducting a capacity assessment, it became clear that Job Train had the desire, but needed to enhance their technical intuition and infrastructure to move forward. Project Evident worked with them to ensure the language of evaluation and evidence building was easily understood throughout the organization.
By the end of the engagement, Job Train had a strategic evidence plan they were able to implement, and the evidence necessary to secure funding to add a team member whose main focus is data analysis and evaluation. They also now have the skill set to pivot services to a more virtual format, and will continue to evaluate program impact in a post COVID-19 landscape.