Evaluation Planning, Consulting, and Training

FOR NON-PROFITS, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, AND CAMPUSES

PLANNING

Evaluation doesn’t have to mean a lot of extra work for your organization! With proper planning, it becomes an easy tool that adds great value to your programming.

CONSULTING

Evaluation consulting can take on many forms, from short advising sessions to full planning, implementation and reporting. 

TRAINING

Establishing evaluation mindsets throughout your organization can be easy with proper training and assistance with getting your whole team on board.

MSB Consulting LLC Data Collection & Evaluation Framework

Melissa Siegel Barrios

(She, Her, Hers)

Melissa Siegel Barrios , founder of MSB Consulting, LLC, is a trained evaluator with a track record of successful evaluation contracts, including: a project focused on supporting North Carolina Historically Black Colleges and Universities with improving sexual assault response and prevention, child abuse prevention program evaluation across the state, a community readiness assessment project, a statewide awareness campaign evaluation project, multiple teen dating violence prevention evaluations, and DELTA Impact and Rape Prevention Education Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded projects evaluating prevention efforts of violence preventionists in North Carolina. Melissa grew up in North Carolina and still calls the state home, where she and her partner Elver live with their 5-year-old daughter Adilyn and toddler twin girls, Luna and Nova. Her work and her daughters keep her very busy, but she always makes time for Harry Potter breaks!

MSB Consulting Areas of Expertise

violence prevention especially community-based prevention

evaluation of violence prevention

assessments of community readiness for prevention

teen dating violence prevention

campus-based violence prevention

theory to practice translation

Frequently Asked Questions

What is evaluation?

Evaluation is used to determine the effectiveness of a program and contribute to continuous improvement of programming through data collection and analysis

How is evaluation different than research?

Research is focused on testing theories and contributing to knowledge usually through journals. Evaluation is focused on improving programs and contributing to knowledge about programs in the field. Evaluation is also much more flexible and fluid than research.

Who will do the evaluation and who needs to be trained?

Generally the person who is implementing the program is best positioned to work with an evaluation consultant to implement the evaluation. However, evaluation works best if it is infused into many areas of an organization. Therefore, we often recommend training as many staff members as possible so that everyone can contribute to the evaluation process in the way that makes the most sense for their role.

Why is evaluation important?

Evaluation is important because it allows us to show the value and impact of the programs we implement to prevent violence. Such information can contribute to improving our programming to strengthen our impact and also to allow us to show funders the value of our work.

How can evaluation be part of what you’re already doing?

Often we are collecting data through our programs without even realizing it. One of my main goals as an evaluator is to support people doing programs to tap into that data and be able to analyze and utilize it as evaluation. Evaluation doesn’t always have to be extensive surveys or tons of additional work, sometimes it can be simply adding a few small tracking and analysis tasks.

What support do we offer for evaluation?

As an evaluation contracting company, we can offer support in planning for evaluation, training on evaluation, implementing an evaluation plan, analyzing evaluation data, and creating evaluation reports.

What evaluation experience does Melissa have?

In 2015, Melissa began to receive intensive training and support on evaluation through the Prevention Institute with the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCCADV). From there, she designed an evaluation plan for the comprehensive prevention program she was implementing through her role with Mecklenburg County Community Support Services and created tools for evaluation and implemented the evaluation. When her first daughter was born, she left her full time position and began a consulting business as an evaluator. Through that consulting business, she has worked with North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCCADV), Domestic Violence Shelter and Services (DVSS) in Wilmington, the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCCASA), Prevent Child Abuse NC (PCANC) in partnership with ETR Services, and Mecklenburg County Community Support Services.