We partner with leaders and organizations
to center community perspectives
in measuring and learning
from change efforts.
As I depart the California desert on the heels of a series of retreats and a milestone birthday, I'm finally feeling settled into the new year. These trips have provided me with a kind of deep rest that I haven't experienced since departing my home 10 years ago for a two-year adventure in Bangkok…What am I creating space for? Here’s a preview…
We have long supported Waltham Partnership for Youth in implementing the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) so that decision-makers could use survey findings to inform important decisions. In 2023, we balanced involving youth in participatory instrument review while respecting community input from prior years. While we believe that our efforts fostered authentic student responses, we are reminded that participatory methods require significant investments of time and attention to do well.
During the last year of funding for a sexual health program for Black and Brown young adults (18-25 years old) in Boston, the program team at Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) - Health Services contracted MXM Research Group to conduct an evaluation. The goals of the learning partnership were to: 1) better understand young people’s health behaviors, as well as needs and gaps in sexual and mental services for young people; 2) better understand facilitators and barriers to accessing health information and services; and 3) identify opportunities to improve programs and to better serve young people.
In May, we hosted our very first Data + Soul Festival! The event convened a few dozen professionals curious about data and equity and provided a chance for reflection, connection, and play.
Evan Kuras, one of our Evaluation Consultants, has been reflecting on the intersection of equity, evaluation, and the environment. He co-wrote a blog post for the American Evaluation Association's 365 Tip-A-Day Earth Week series along with Rupu Gupta. Check it out!
Maria Popova, the genius behind The Marginalian, says that “Great children’s books are works of existential philosophy in disguise” (2021). This discovery has been one of many new thrills in my life since becoming a mother. Every now and then, when I'm reading with my toddler, I'll breeze through a sentence that leaves me completely floored. Data + Soul (“data plus soul”) came to me during one of those moments.
When we began partnering with the coalition in 2017, it was in the early stages of defining its work in this space and auditing its own internal practices using Jones & Okun’s White Supremacy Culture document as a guide. As a part of this process we considered ways in which white supremacy culture showed up in the coalition’s evaluation framework and practices, and identified alternative ways to loosen its grip.
Systems change efforts are often messier than intended, with outcomes emerging years after a project has ended. One approach we use for partners like CHNA17 is to use a logic model and measurement framework for the systems change component that are more linear and shorter term.
We leapt into 2022 without enough of a pause - grateful that the lunar new year offers a second chance. Watch this space for some of our team’s reflections. We’re bringing so many fun ideas, lessons, and partnerships into this new year.
Join us at the Alliance for Nonprofit Management’s 2021 Capacity Builders Virtual Conference on Oct 11-13 where we’ll lead a workshop on forwarding equity in data and evaluation. Capacity-builders regularly use data to support nonprofits, whether by conducting interviews, synthesizing research, or evaluating programs. This session will focus on how to center equity in multiple phases of working with data.
After five wonderful years as MXM Consulting, we've changed our name to MXM Research Group LLC to reflect growth and new beginnings. Please bear with us while we update our website and other materials to reflect this change.
A youth-serving organization in Massachusetts wanted to prepare a Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) report that would be easy for youth, parents, and community members to digest. We designed a report that aims to make the data accessible to all by using consistent visual elements, easy-to-read charts, and color-coded sections to simplify navigation.
At the end of a 4-year behavior change project, an international NGO in Thailand wanted to understand which of its interventions made the biggest difference to the desired outcome. We designed a mixed methods evaluation that used qualitative comparative analysis to identify pathways to successful outcomes.
A community health coalition in Massachusetts wanted to understand its outcomes in promoting cross-institutional learning and collaboration. We used social network analysis to map levels and types of collaboration among coalition members.
A youth-serving organization in Waltham, MA wanted to understand the transportation challenges of youth and families across the city. We conducted a transportation equity study using targeted community engagement strategies to ensure the inclusion of voices that are traditionally underrepresented in community surveys.
QCA is a method that is increasingly used in public health and evaluation to analyze how multiple conditions contribute to an outcome of interest in complex systems and interventions - much like baking! We provide an overview of QCA and share a few applications of the method, including a case study in which we used QCA to evaluate a behavior change intervention in Thailand.
We’re now on Instagram as @mxmfieldnotes. Come see what we’re up to and follow along!
We’re currently accepting applications for 2 summer positions. Check them out and apply!
