Client Spotlight: Scaling Impact Through Program Evaluation
Non-profit leaders: What's the best way to build capacity and accelerate your program's impact?
You can drive greater impact with data.
Work with a program evaluator who has a history of publishing research in academic journals to ensure that more people see your accomplishments.
We helped a client expand their program into 53 new locations because we published evaluation data in over 25 blogs and three academic journals.
Together, we helped drive meaningful change for our client, and we can do the same for you.
Prison Education Can Change Lives
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports high rates of recidivism among incarcerated persons who are released into the community. Within three years of their release, two-thirds (67.8%) are rearrested, and within five years, more than three-fourths (76.6%) are rearrested. However, incarcerated individuals who participate in prison education programs are 43% less likely to re-offend following their release.
Educational programs in prison support an individual’s successful reentry into society and strengthen public safety. According to federal data, prison education program participants were 43% less likely to return to criminal behavior once released. Participation in education programs while incarcerated increases and improves employment opportunities and saves taxpayer dollars.
Program Evaluation Findings
We partnered with a client who runs a faith-based higher education in prison (HEP) program across America to evaluate their program’s effectiveness. Results of our evaluation suggested that more than purely an academic program, this faith-based higher education equips men and women for leadership and services, creates psychological well-being, promotes healthy thinking patterns, brings self-awareness and self-respect to its participants, enables positive interpersonal relationships inside and outside prison walls, and equips participants with problem-solving skills, impulse control, and the ability to manage negative emotions.
We Disseminated the Evaluation Findings to a Wide Audience
We published our findings in over 25 blogs and three peer-reviewed professional research journals. For example, we shared the pilot evaluation with the academic community, highlighting the transformative effects of participating in a prison-based educational program.
Then, we published the final data based on almost 300 interviews with currently and formerly incarcerated men and women in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, highlighting participants’ perception of program quality and their prosocial thinking, behavior, and relationships, all of which contribute to identity change and desistance from criminal behavior.
Our published research got noticed!
Amplifying Program Impact
Obtaining permission to offer a program in any state’s correctional system is no easy task. Potential programs must undergo a rigorous screening application and vetting process before it may be presented to participants. A lengthy application with appropriate documentation is required, and approval is not automatically guaranteed.
As part of their expansion program, our client applied to another state to offer their faith-based educational program in their prison system. Because our evaluation findings had been widely published, especially in peer-reviewed academic journals, the application process was streamlined.
The head of corrections in another state quickly approved the expansion of their program into all 52 prisons, largely because the research findings had been published in academic research journals.
Inspiring Change
We can help you get your data noticed like we did for our client in the faith-based higher education in prison (HEP) field.
We won’t stop at data analysis and short-term reporting needs.
We focus on driving change in the social sector through thought leadership, speaking engagements, and national and international professional publications.
Connect with an expert evaluator to turn your data into actionable insights and expand your reach.
Let’s grow your non-profit together.
Ready to learn about how program evaluation can maximize your organization’s community impact? From data collection to analysis to communicating findings to a wide audience, we develop insights that drive informed decisions. Get started by clicking here.
