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Research and Evaluation Services

The Human Services research team offers expertise in research and evaluation focused on a variety of human and social services for children, adults and families. We have extensive experience working with California counties and state agencies, as well as experience supporting human service agencies in many counties and states nationwide. We work with a variety of partners and stakeholders (e.g., nonprofits, community-based organizations, advocacy groups, state and local government and private sector) to design, conduct and support meaningful research and evaluation that helps entities achieve their goals, including those related to improvement of human services and service delivery systems.

The Human Services research team recognizes the value and impact of using research/evaluation to help meet agency objectives. Our goal is to promote rigorous yet feasible research/evaluation that helps organizations and service providers meet mandated requirements and use evidence to make informed decisions. Our approach is guided by a continuous quality improvement framework, which includes routine assessment of program/system functionality coupled with action plans intended to drive improvement. Ultimately, our approach to research/evaluation is designed to help agencies strengthen their programs and bring about optimal outcomes for children, adults and families.

A Wide Range of Research and Evaluation Support Services

We welcome the opportunity to learn about your human services research/evaluation needs and collectively consider how we can support your agency in achieving its goals. Our team provides a wide range of research/evaluation support, including:

  • Full completion of research/evaluation projects—where we do all the work from start to finish
  • Consultation and completion of research/evaluation tasks—where we provide “as needed” support and carry out specific aspects of your research/evaluation needs
  • Provision of training and technical assistance—where we support you and your team and help build your agency’s capacity to fulfill its research/evaluation needs

Breadth of Research and Evaluation Deliverables

The Human Services research team can support your organization by providing the following research/evaluation services:

  • Identification of research/evaluation and quality improvement gaps and needs
  • Literature reviews
  • Creation of research/evaluation designs to meet your needs
  • Implementation of a variety of research/evaluation designs (e.g., surveys, interviews, focus groups, mixed methods)
  • Program and policy evaluation
  • Evaluation of curricula and trainings
  • Performance monitoring systems, including development of benchmarks
  • Collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data
  • Analysis of large, administrative datasets
  • Sampling plans
  • Program fidelity studies, including development of fidelity tools
  • Development/identification of scales of measurement and associated tools
  • Creation and submission of applications and materials to the UC Davis Institutional Review Board
  • Reports, presentations and other materials used to share evidence with a variety of audiences
  • Creation and dissemination of products to communicate findings with specific audiences (e.g., fact sheets, infographics, website content, newsletters, briefs, white papers)
  • Mandated reports related to evaluation and continuous quality improvement
  • Online data “dashboards”
  • Stakeholder engagement at any point in the research/evaluation or continuous quality improvement process
  • Use of a participatory research approach
  • Outreach to engage stakeholders in research/evaluation efforts
  • Funding proposals/applications
  • Collaboration with relevant entities to achieve research/evaluation goals
  • Identification of “promising practices” through review of the scholarly evidence
  • Development of evidence-based practices
  • Support, training and technical assistance related to research/evaluation or continuous quality improvement efforts

Visit this page to view our rate-based services.

Why Work with Our Research Team?

Our team is made up of skilled researchers with experience in a broad array of human services—which we believe lends to a better understanding of the challenges and complexities that may arise when doing research in this field. We are committed to rigorous research that can be applied to improve the quality of human services and, ultimately, improve the lives of the individuals being served. We have extensive experience establishing partnerships and working successfully to contribute to local, state and federal service delivery agencies so that they can best meet the needs of those they serve. We are passionate about supporting human service agencies so they can best use evidence that is available for system improvement.

Please contact us for more information on how the Human Services research team can support your research, evaluation and continuous quality improvement efforts.