Evaluation Services

CSEP’s Evaluation team provides critical support to STEM faculty at UCSB and beyond for STEM research centers, training grants, and initiatives focused on workforce development, education, diversity, equity, inclusion, access, outreach, and broader impacts. From the proposal stage to the end of the funding period, we support projects via data management and participant tracking, documenting successes, and identifying areas for improvement along the way. Our team uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to generate formative and summative feedback, enabling us to share evidence-based recommendations essential for meeting and sharing successes toward specific goals. We also provide education research services contributing to knowledge generation. We have experience with a variety of government funding agencies (e.g., NSF, NIH, ONR) and private foundations (e.g., Beckman, Jack Kent Cooke), and understand their proposal and reporting requirements.

Services Offered

Successful data management, evaluation, and education research requires a close working relationship between the project leadership and experts who can tailor these services to specific project needs. Our team will support your project’s success through a quality partnership based on mutual goals and a wide range of customizable services that leverage our complementary set of expertise:

• Working with PIs during the proposal stage, including support with developing an evaluation plan with measurable goals and metrics and developing education research plans that support knowledge generation
• Conducting formative and summative evaluations using mixed-methods approaches that integrate qualitative and quantitative data collected through our customizable data portals, surveys, and interviews, as well as institutional data and data from other sources
• Supporting STEM faculty with the development of learning assessment tools and using learning assessment data for measuring progress toward student, course, and program-level learning goals
• Sharing findings and data in a variety of ways including in-person meetings, virtual meetings, site visits or event attendance, and written reports and summaries based on project needs

When to Contact Us

The best time to start working with us is when you decide you will be submitting a proposal. This allows us to support you in the development of your measurable goals and metrics and to help you ensure that these align with your proposed activities. For proposals, we provide:

• A written evaluation and/or education research plan, carefully customized to your program’s needs and budget
• A budget for the direct costs of our services, based on projected hourly recharge rates
• Text for the budget justification and data management plans, if needed

Working with us at the proposal stage will help you submit a stronger and more competitive proposal. However, we join projects at all stages, including projects that are already funded. Please contact us to discuss how we can support your project with our services.

Who Can Work With Us

We work on projects that span the STEM disciplines and audiences from K-12/community through faculty and industry. We provide our services beyond UCSB and the UC-system, with current and former collaborators including community colleges, universities, and non-profit and professional organizations.

Cost of Services

Annual evaluation budgets (direct costs) are typically $10,000-$60,000 for UC projects and $15,000-$95,000 for non-UC projects, depending on the range of the overall budget and type of services required. We document the hours worked and bill monthly through our recharge system.

Currently, our recharge rates are set as follows for the 2024-25 fiscal year:

• $121/hour for UC-based projects  
• $190/hour for external (non-UC) projects

Our recharge rates are expected to increase annually each July 1 due to UC-instituted cost of living adjustments and scheduled merits, so we factor projected increases into the budgets we prepare. Projected recharge rates are subject to change.

 

Contact us

Please contact Lubi Lenaburg for an initial consultation to assess your needs and determine who is best suited to support your project.