If you are interested in starting an evaluation or research project with RK&A, please consider these preliminary steps. We look forward to speaking with you to discuss your evaluation or research needs.

Planning

We encourage you to spend time planning your programs because of the strong relationship between planning and evaluation. A well thought out program also creates the basis for strong evaluation. Evaluation determines a program's successes and shortcomings, using the goals and objectives identified during the planning stage as a gauge. The most productive evaluations come from programs with clear and well-articulated objectives.

We help our clients clarify their goals. The rich conversation that occurs and information garnered in the planning process provide context and insight about your values and intentions—important elements that will shape your program. We want to understand your values and intentions so we can design relevant instruments to measure your program's success.

Goals & Objectives

Experience has taught us that museums need to develop clear goals and objectives and know their audience to design successful programs. Thus, in our planning session with you, we ask the following key questions:

What are your goals and objectives?

RK&A staff are skilled at helping museum staff clarify their thinking and craft concrete goals and measurable objectives. As part of our intentional practice services, we offer an Intentional Program Planning workshop to train staff in crafting goals and objectives.

Who is your target audience?

We will help you identify audience(s), which, in turn, allows us to design an appropriate evaluation or research strategy.

Project Timelines

We encourage you to contact us as soon as you learn of an evaluation or research need. Although it is ideal to contact us at least two months before starting a project, we realize sometimes that is not possible.

We understand that most museums work under enormous time pressure. Working under these constraints, we will help you design a schedule that will allow each of us to produce the highest quality work possible.

Federal Grants

We are pleased to participate in the IMLS, NEA, NEH, NIH, and NSF grant application processes, and we have the expertise to write the evaluation plan for your proposal.

To further assist you in getting started, please see Resources to learn more about our specialized knowledge and expertise.

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