ASSESS

What if you could measure your impact on the world?

Effective assessment is not only a requirement for the majority of donors, investors, partners, and stakeholders; it is a core measurement of success. Whether an audit, evaluation, or assessment, these systems of measurement enable reflection and improvement, in turn allowing for sustainable growth, development, and progress towards your ultimate goals. Catalystas believes in the power of ethical, unbiased assessment to elevate transformation processes.

We Offer Support In

Baseline, Midterm, & Final Evaluation:

Effective evaluations are a key stepping stone to effective programming. Catalystas can help your organization ensure that projects are off to a solid start by conducting in-depth Baseline Evaluations or Studies to establish a critical reference point against which changes and impacts can be measured. We can also support you in conducting external Midterm and Final Evaluations, designed to measure the progress your programming has made, the changes achieved - whether intended or unintended - and the overall impact you have made among your target groups. All of our evaluation methodologies use standardized, yet flexible, approaches, including measuring against OECD-DAC criteria.

Evaluation Framework & Indicator Design:

The creation of a clear evaluative framework is essential to proving the success of your programs and projects. Catalystas can build a tailored evaluation framework, complete with Theory of Change, Log Frame, and Monitoring and Evaluation Action Plan and Timeline with select indicators. We use human-centered, mixed method evaluation indicator design, combining quantitative and qualitative indicators to demonstrate evidence-based results tied to each stage of your project activities.

Impact Assessment:

Assessing programmatic impact is both an art and a science. Catalystas combines an investigative analysis of qualitative evidence and quantitative data to determine the impacts of your project; tangible and intangible, intended and unintended. We measure the significance of the changes realized through your project activities, and produce a comprehensive report detailing successes, weaknesses, best practices, gaps, and recommendations for future improvement in an easily digestible manner.

Perception Surveying & Analysis:

Measuring change is not always possible using quantitative data alone. In order to examine levels of change in qualitative evidence such as perception, behavior, and attitude, Catalystas can help your organization design, disseminate, and dissect small and large scale surveys. We can create surveys on a wide variety of topics and across various platforms, from social media questionnaires to in-person paper forms. We can also adapt to various population needs, including low levels of literacy, limited access to the internet, and multilingual communities. We hold safety and confidentiality at the core of our approach, and always ensure that survey participant data is kept confidential, anonymous, and secured.

Organizational Assessment:

Internal structures are just as important as external activities. If internal processes and mechanisms are ineffective, your organization won't be able to achieve its full potential when it comes to programs and projects. Catalystas is experienced in investigating the inner workings of organizations, from understanding decision-making hierarchies, to examining feedback loops, to hearing out staff grievances. We operate from the bottom up and the top down, interacting with staff and leadership at all levels in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of your organization's strengths, weaknesses, gaps, challenges, and opportunities. We then tailor recommendations for improvement as part of an overall assessment report, designed in an easily digestible manner that can be shared throughout the organization as a basis for clear communication and improvement. As always, safety and confidentiality are paramount; we do not use any identifiable data in order to ensure the security of all staff throughout your organization.

Financial Auditing:

Transparency and a strong track record of compliance are gold stars for any organization. Catalystas can conduct a financial audit of your organization, examining internal or project based documentation, accounting entries, tax statements, balance sheets, billing procedures, account balances, and more to provide a clear and transparent report that you can present to potential partners, donors, and other relevant stakeholders as proof of financial fitness and trustworthiness.

Gender Auditing:

Having a gender policy is one thing; implementing it is another. Catalystas can conduct an audit of your organization with a focus on gender sensitivity, investigating internal and external processes to ensure that gender equality is incorporated into your organizational practices at every level, from the types of support staff members receive to the gender balance on your board and upper management. We will provide you with a comprehensive report of the results, including best practices, areas for improvement, and recommendations for short, medium, and long term actions.

Gender Benchmarking:

Catalystas' Gender Benchmark Certification gives your organization a seal of approval when it comes to the implementation of gender sensitivity and the mainstreaming of gender equality throughout policies and practices. Following a gender audit, Catalystas will rank your organization using our specially developed Benchmarking System, and with a high enough score, will present your organization with a displayable Gender Benchmark Certificate.