Applied Research & Evaluation
RAYA Collab partners with community organizations, educational institutions, government agencies, and non-profits to generate actionable insights and evidence-informed strategies on projects advancing adolescent and young adult development.
As a university-based research laboratory, our approach is grounded in collaborative, community-partnered science. We work alongside practitioners to design rigorous evaluation projects, strengthen data quality, and build internal capacity to ensure that data serves the youth, families, and communities you support.
How We Collaborate
We bring expertise across the full life cycle of evaluation and applied research. Partnering with our team allows organizations to integrate scientific rigor into their day-to-day operations and grant efforts. In addition to the specific services below, we also partner with organizations to provide technical assistance and build internal capacity for evaluation.
Data Quality & Measurement
Survey & Instrument Development: Designing tailored, culturally responsive, and developmentally appropriate measurement tools for youth and young adults.
Data Management & Quality Assurance: Establishing protocol systems, data cleaning pipelines, and storage practices that ensure data integrity and security.
Data Visualization & Reporting
Visualizing: Translating complex statistical analyses into clear, executive summaries, infographics, and reports.
Funder & Community Summaries: Creating visual summaries tailored for board members, funding agencies, participants, and community stakeholders.
Program Evaluation & Impact Assessment
Process & Outcome Evaluations: Assessing program fidelity, implementation quality, and participant outcomes.
Theory of Change & Logic Models: Articulate your programs’ core components, intended outcomes, and paths to impact.
Pilot & Feasibility Studies: Test new programs and collect preliminary evidence.
Grant Writing & Evaluation Plans
Proposal Co-Development: Evaluation works best when it is an early consideration of the planning process! We can help devise feasible evaluation plans for your next proposal.
Aligning Plans with Practice: Designing key performance indicators (KPIs) and data collection schedules that align directly with funder requirements and community priorities.
Frequently Asked Questions for Partners
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You don't need a fully formed evaluation plan before reaching out! It is helpful for you to bring ideas about your program’s goals, upcoming grant deadlines, your target population, and what questions you are hoping we can help you answer.
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Yes! We partner with organizations during the grant writing stage. In fact, the earlier we can be involved in the process, the better! We can co-write evaluation sections and serve as the named external evaluation partner on grant applications.
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We are happy to collaborate across a range of needs, from targeted technical assistance (like developing a custom survey or setting up a data cleaning workflow) to comprehensive, multi-year evaluation initiatives. We work with partners to align project scopes with available resources and grant budgets. Contact us to discuss your needs!
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Because we are based in an academic institution, partnerships are structured through university research or sponsored program agreements (such as a subcontract, service agreement, or joint grant proposal). We will coordinate administrative details through our university’s office of research.
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Partnering with a university laboratory means your evaluation is backed by scientific rigor, ethical standards (IRB compliance), and deep subject-matter expertise in youth and young adult development. We operate as thought partners invested in the long-term success and sustainability of your organization!
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We are a small but mighty team, so timelines always depend on current projects and capacity. We are happy to discuss possibilities!
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Project budgets are dependent upon scope. In general, individual services start in the ballpark of $5,000. We will work with your organization to determine what is possible with various budgets.