Evaluation and Learning
Our approach to evaluation and learning helps clients generate strategic and operational insights of immediate use and relevance for continuously improving their efforts to address complex environmental and social challenges. We often begin by surfacing key strategic questions—and we don't shy away from the difficult ones. Our proven ability to design and employ participatory methods to identify and engage a diverse set of stakeholders builds trust and draws out candid feedback. We create space for reflection and real-time learning to move from “What?” into answering “So what?” and “Now what?” Our innovative methods for conducting qualitative and quantitative data analysis and data visualization spur insight and illuminate findings.
Helping Philanthropies Evaluate, Learn, and Set Strategic Direction
Our staff bring together broad public policy expertise and experience helping public and private organizations innovate and implement change. Learn about our approach to foundation services and the tools we bring to our projects in this fact sheet.
Related Projects
Climate Investment Funds Global Energy Storage Program
The World Bank’s Climate Investment Fund (CIF) Global Energy Storage Program is a major pool of multilateral financing for programs and projects to advance innovative energy storage applications in developing countries. As a complement to this program, Ross Strategic led a project to launch and support a global network and learning platform on energy storage. Ross provided research and development of a network of public and private sector stakeholders involved in energy storage finance, technology, and policy and facilitated a global learning community through a series of virtual engagements, such as the event Keeping the Power On: Sparking Energy Storage Solutions in Developing Countries.
Climate Breakthrough Evaluation
Through a collaboration among philanthropic partners, Climate Breakthrough provides awards of several million dollars and complementary support over three years to extraordinary individuals pursuing transformative “breakthrough” climate strategies. Ross Strategic led an evaluation of Climate Breakthrough to inform its future direction and growth. Drawing on over 40 interviews with awardees, staff, funders, and observers in the field, Ross Strategic developed an evaluation report with insights about processes for awardee identification, selection, and support as well as strategies to scale awardees’ efforts after the direct support period. The report provided several strategic recommendations, including how Climate Breakthrough could diversify its pool of potential awardees.
Regional Perspectives on the Effectiveness of Puget Sound Shellfish Recovery Actions
Commercial and recreational shellfish harvest is an important part of Puget Sound’s culture and economy. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources contracted with Ross Strategic to capture perceptions of the effectiveness of recovery protection efforts intended to restore shellfish beds to harvestable condition. Ross Strategic interviewed a wide variety of stakeholders across Puget Sound, including local conservation district staff, state agency staff, local government representatives, and others. Interview data led to the development of recommendations to enhance regional shellfish recovery action effectiveness, and the ensuing report identifies potential actions at the state or local level, or in combination, that could further bolster shellfish bed recovery in support of the Puget Sound Partnership's shellfish bed recovery target.
Real-Time Learning at the Intersection of Climate, Health, and Equity
Climate change is the greatest public health threat of our time, and it disproportionately affects frontline communities, which are often low-income communities of color. The Kresge Foundation's Climate Change, Health and Equity (CCHE) Initiative aims to build climate resilience and advance policies and practices to tackle climate change in ways that reflect the needs and priorities of low-income communities and communities of color. Ross Strategic conducted a developmental evaluation for Phase 1 of the initiative, working closely with Kresge and initiative partners, to develop a Learning Framework, collect and analyze data, and facilitate real-time learning to inform the design, development, and implementation of CCHE and future intersectional initiatives of similar scope.
Enterprise Green Communities Program Evaluation
Ross Strategic recently completed a large-scale program evaluation of Enterprise Community Partners’ Green Communities Initiative, which aims to provide green and sustainable housing to low-income communities nationwide. Ross conducted over 80 interviews with affordable housing stakeholders; designed, administered, and analyzed surveys of developers, technical assistance providers, architects, financiers, and housing credit administrators; and developed a comprehensive report and summary piece on program milestones. Ross is now assisting Enterprise with strategic planning, incorporating findings and recommendations from the final evaluation report.
City Energy Project
Ross Strategic planned and conducted a formative evaluation of the City Energy Project, a foundation-funded effort to transform the market for commercial building energy efficiency through intensive work in 20 cities across the United States. Working closely with project implementers and drawing on over 100 interviews with city leaders and stakeholders, the Ross team helped implementers answer key learning questions and adapt the program. In addition to a public report, we developed multiple audience-specific products to help implementers refine program design and implementation.
Children's Investment Fund Foundation Evaluation
Ross Strategic conducted an evaluation of CIFF's multi-year investment in a major initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving public transport in Brazilian cities and reforming the financing approach of public and private stakeholders to prioritize low carbon infrastructure. The evaluation included an estimation of the impact on greenhouse gas emissions, evaluation of achieved outcomes, and a qualitative assessment of the elements of the theory of change. Ross conducted over 60 interviews with key stakeholders in five focus cities across Brazil, including Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Kresge Climate Resilience and Urban Opportunity Evaluation Report
The Kresge Foundation recently released their Climate Resilience and Urban Opportunity (CRUO) evaluation report, which Ross Strategic co-authored with the Spark Policy Institute. The initiative was a five-year, $29 million effort developed to strengthen the climate resilience field by supporting new models, methodologies, and approaches to policy and planning for the direct benefit of low-income communities. We conducted a developmental and outcome evaluation that included site visits to 15 grantees across the country. The CRUO evaluation affirmed the significant value that community-based organizations grounded in equity bring to climate change work.