Hello, AEA365 community! Liz DiLuzio here, Lead Curator of the blog. This week is Individuals Week, which means we take a break from our themed weeks and spotlight the Hot Tips, Cool Tricks, Rad Resources and Lessons Learned from any evaluator interested in sharing. Would you like to contribute to future individuals weeks? Email me at AEA365@eval.org with an idea or a draft and we will make it happen.
Hi! We are Matt Feldmann and Sam Robison, and we are here to provide you with some context for what it is like to lead an evaluation practice and/or a university based research center that serves higher education clients. Matt owns and operates Goshen Consulting, a small independent consulting firm in Edwardsville, Illinois. Sam is an Associate Director and Associate Professor of Research in the Social Research and Evaluation Center at LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana—note that I am not the director of our center, though I work closely with her and hope to have something useful to provide to this conversation!
To keep this light, we thought we would propose some questions and each answer them from our perspectives with a focus on giving some insight into what it takes to manage a higher education focused practice (e.g., firm or center).
Q: What are the similarities and differences between leading evaluation projects and an evaluation practice?
Matt: I think there are more differences than similarities. Usually, you find you need to hire an employee or subcontractor because your business is expanding quickly. You ultimately find that you are giving direction to others and supporting them with the work that you used to do with your clients. Your days become more focused on creating systems to support the business structure including developing employee manuals, negotiating contracts, setting up processes for contracting and invoicing, and supervision to support your staff.
Sam: There are parallels, and in a sense, it does become an issue of scale—both involve management, careful attention, constant judgment, and a level of ownership. However, there are fundamentally different administrative responsibilities. If you are leading a project, you are responsible for quality project deliverables, maintaining and building relationships, meeting deadlines, and doing it all under budget whenever possible. But if you are leading a unit, you have to be ultimately responsible for everything that can facilitate or impede that, from a structural and policy standpoint.
Q: What are some reasons why you might want to make this shift?
Matt: Independent consultants might see this as an opportunity to develop their business, more fully serve a client base, and build more equity in the business. If you are a “people person” and would like to help mentor others, this could be a great opportunity for you.
Sam: If you are the leader in a center or institute, then you have more autonomy, and can leave a meaningful mark by forging the mission and direction of your work. For someone with a high level of confidence in their abilities, with a vision, and with and a willingness to take that responsibility and burden, this could pay dividends.
Q: Alternately, what are some reasons why you might not want to make this this shift?
Matt: You probably should not make this switch if you really love your evaluation work and will miss working directly with your clients. Also, avoid this path if you struggle with managing others.
Sam: Management and administration are priorities at this level, so I echo that thought. The more of this you do, the less time you have to play around with data, to do field work, or to write manuscripts. Additionally, I think the question of responsibility is a significant one. Your institution relies on you, your partners rely on you, your staff rely on you. That isn’t for everyone.
Q: Finally, what are some takeaways you have from your experiences?
Matt: Independent consultants should not attempt to build a firm unless they have a market niche that is expanding. Also, realize that your overhead expenses will grow, which will likely price you out of taking smaller contracts. Carefully study your consulting costs (e.g., labor and overhead) so that you can fairly and accurately price your services for your clients.
Sam: I echo all of that. Also, finding and keeping people who are a fit for the atmosphere you want to foster, while also having the competencies you need, is critical. Sometimes it’s hard to thread that needle. Also, you sometimes have to compromise by taking on projects that aren’t pure evaluation, or that aren’t perfectly in line with your mission because the relationship is important, or because the price is too good to ignore.
Rad Resource:
Matt drafted this firm readiness survey for independent consultants who may be interested in growing into a firm. Try it out and send him a note with your thoughts.
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