August 11, 2023 - 1:59pm

For more than two decades, The Improve Group has evolved to meet the needs of staff, our clients, and the communities that serve to benefit from evaluation. Today, we’re excited to announce we have become a worker-owned co-operative.

An image quote that says: "During the 20th century, we lost a lot of language and traditions. Youth were forced to attend boarding schools where Dakota language was forbidden. Children grew up fearing to speak their language, practice their traditions, and did not want to pass these things on to their kids. In the last 10-20 years, we have seen a revival of language and traditions. Language is the heartbeat of our tribe, and it could be our answer for getting back a lot of our old traditions."
May 5, 2023 - 4:02pm

The Santee Sioux Nation is the current home to many descendants of the Wahpekute Band of the Dakota Nation, on whose land our office is located. Kameron Runnels, Vice Chairman of the Santee Sioux Nation Tribal Council, kindly gave his time to answer questions in an interview with Improve Group Chief Practice Officer Becky Stewart. Check out Part II below.

Headshot of Sara McGarraugh
March 22, 2023 - 8:31am

Headshot of Sara McGarraughThe Improve Group is pleased to announce Sara McGarraugh, an IGer since 2012, has advanced to Director of Consulting. Sara has grown alongside IG since joining the organization more than a decade ago as an intern.

An image quote that says "When the federal government allotted the land on the reservation, only half was allotted to tribal members. The rest was opened up to non-Dakota settlers. We don’t understand how that happened, or why. Today, we only own about 25% of the original reservation, which is 12 miles east and west, 15 miles north and south. The tribe tries to purchase land whenever it is up for sale, and it is a goal of the tribe to buy as much land back as possible." - Kameron Runnels
March 9, 2023 - 4:29pm

The Santee Sioux Nation is the current home to many descendants of the Wahpekute Band of the Dakota Nation, on whose land our office is located. Kameron Runnels, Vice Chairman of the Santee Sioux Nation Tribal Council, kindly gave his time to answer questions in an interview with Improve Group Chief Practice Officer Becky Stewart. Check out Part II below.

December 1, 2022 - 8:14pm

It’s the time of year when we remind our clients and partners that we close our doors for a week of winter/holiday rest from December 26, 2022 - January 2, 2023. We also want to share our new “office closure policy” taking effect in 2023.

A quote from Kameron Runnels, Vice Chairman of the Santee Sioux Nation Tribal Council: "Whenever I travel to Minnesota, I feel a peaceful, comfortable feeling – that feeling that this is where you belong, are meant to be. That connection is built into all Dakota people, built into our DNA from having lived there for so long.”
December 1, 2022 - 8:06pm

The Improve Group’s office in St. Paul is located on land that belongs to the Wahpekute Band of the Dakota Nation. The State of Minnesota and U.S. government stole this land through ethnic cleansing and forced removal.

Image of the Vikings Table food truck; Image credit: The Minnesota Vikings Foundation
November 11, 2022 - 10:43am

Hi! I’m Nick Stilp, a Senior Consultant at The Improve Group. I was thrilled to lead our work with the Minnesota Vikings Foundation to evaluate Vikings Table, a food truck program with the mission of serving healthy meals and nutrition education to youth across the greater Twin Cities area.

Leah speaking at The Improve Group’s 15-year anniversary party.
September 28, 2022 - 9:40am

A message from Leah Goldstein Moses

Hello, IG community! I’m writing today to share exciting news. On August 1, I stepped down as CEO of The Improve Group and into an advisory role, while other members of our team stepped in to bring their considerable talents to the roles I once filled.

Image of the outside of our new office space at 700 Raymond Avenue
June 13, 2022 - 8:29am

We’re excited to share that we’re moving to a new physical space in July, and we should be fully moved in by Aug. 1, 2022! We’re excited to be staying in the same neighborhood, maintaining our strong ties to the community and organizations around us—in fact, the new space is just a little over a block from our current office. 

An image that demonstrates all the phases of the IG-Way: Inception, Design, Data Collection, Analysis, and Sharing
May 10, 2022 - 3:33pm

Over more than 20 years of working with partners and community members to conduct evaluation, The Improve Group has learned many lessons. In recent years we have collected key learnings into what we call the “IG Way.” You might notice us refer to IG Way when we refer to phases like inception, when we listen deeply about project context and needs, or to common IG Way practices like an emerging findings meeting, when we share initial reflections on evaluation data.

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