research, evaluation & planning
learning from data to develop & improve education programs, products & systems
HISTORY & Values
For over four decades, PERG has brought its founding commitment to equity and collaboration to designing and conducting hundreds of evaluations and research studies in formal and informal education environments, working with universities, schools, foundations, state and federal agencies, museums and other community-based organizations.
One of our long-time clients describes our core commitments this way:
PERG’s work is distinguished by:
- A clear theory of learning—a constructivist theory of learning underlies all of PERG’s work;
- A focus on measuring impact—PERG is committed to finding ways to link program activities with relevant outcomes;
- Commitment to program improvement—PERG uses evaluation as a tool to help practitioners learn from experience and improve their programs; and
- A theory of organizational change—PERG also helps organizations to grow, change and build their capacity. This includes a spirit of generosity in sharing evaluation tools so that organizations can strengthen their own evaluation capacity.
William S. Spitzer, Ph.D.
Former Vice President- Programs, Exhibits & Planning
New England Aquarium
OUR TEAM
What We Do
evaluation
Our projects are primarily evaluations of grant-funded innovation. When people think of the role of an evaluator, they often conjure up the image of a trench-coated investigator who keeps a distance from the action, or who sums up the results of a project at the end. Our stance is both objective (as far as that is possible) and supportive. We are known for our collaborative, formative work that seeks to understand what is happening in relation to questions that project designers and leaders care about, and that supports the refinement of project design and implementation along the way toward strong outcomes.
research & development
Sometimes our role is to investigate a question or questions, often within a project, but not focused on the design and implementation of the project itself. Examples include a study of youths’ use of drawing and digital photography to learn about natural organisms, and a study of programs to support students with children in colleges across the country. The approach we use for research studies is parallel to that of evaluations in terms of design and methods.
technical assistance
PERG offers its expertise to organizations and programs outside of formal evaluation and research projects, including, for example:
- customized evaluation planning and capacity building workshops for organizations
- logic mapping and program design
- design of instruments or mapping systems
- technical assistance for small and large needs (from conducting focus groups to reviewing surveys
projects
We have worked with hundreds of organizations over the decades on projects that include several broad areas; primarily STEM, the arts and arts integration, and students with children in higher education. PERG’s projects range in scale and focus, from small developmental projects to national and international partnerships, with funding from federal and state agencies and foundations. Following are a selection of recent projects representing the scope of our work.
