Capacity Building
You can do it! Seriously.
Although it may feel far away, you may be closer to building evaluation culture than you think. As I work with clients and partners, We make sure to point out learning moments where we can unpack complex situations and build skills together.
Our ultimate goal in building capacity is to help others grow their evaluation skills and infrastructure. Sometimes this takes the form of direct instruction and coaching, while other times the focus is on developing workable policies and introducing social practices that may mingle into work cultures.
When we work on capacity-building projects, we take on the roles of:
Instructor, who says “here is knowledge you might find helpful”
Mentor, who says “you are doing great! And…”
Auditor, who asks “what is adding / detracting from your work?”
Throughout her graduate education, Paisley studied learning and capacity building academically, bolstering her tacit understanding of capacity.
Skip generic readings and get training tailored to your context.
There is a lot of information out there that can help you reach the outcomes you desire. However, not all resources are made equal, not all are accessible, and not all are easily located. Finding and learning all this information can easily derail a project timeline.
This field of organizational development and evaluation is a passion of ours. We have already studied a plethora of these resources and continue to learn more. We would be absolutely delighted to share our knowledge, teach core skills, and curate resources for your continued learning.
What might capacity building look like?
Capacity building is about nurturing the space, skills, and knowledge needed to do this work more independently. The capacity building we offer is designed to offer practical, digestible teachings that you can use right away to improve your work. With a Master’s degree in STEM education, Paisley has paid close attention to teaching methods that facilitate learning and embeds activity in all her offerings.
Below are some of the ways we have increased capacity with previous partners.
Guest Talks and Workshops
We offer introductory and advanced training in many areas, including:
Introduction to evaluation
Crash course in various data collection techniques
Advanced conversations about specific evaluation theories
A traditional form of learning, guest talks and workshops are excellent choices when a group of people need access to the same learning.
Group and Individual Mentoring
A highly tailored and contextual form of capacity building, Paisley has mentored numerous individuals on a variety of projects. This offering works best with 1-4 individuals in order to ensure detailed attention is paid to each mentee.
Organizational Infrastructure
This work might focus on:
Policies that enable or disable the desired work
Documentation that orients staff towards the what, why, and how of your work
File organization that simplifies the administrative aspects
Sometimes overlooked, organizational infrastructure is critical in growing capacity within an organization.