Did you know October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month? While domestic violence can happen any day of the year, we wanted to take some time this month to focus on the important work being done in this field, including by many of our clients.
October 25, 2017 - 1:55pm
September 27, 2017 - 2:44pm
Training from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) is about to get a lot more interactive with the addition of an e-Learning Studio. We appreciate our partnership with MCN, which goes back more than a decade, and stems from our shared value of building the capacity of people and organizations in the nonprofit sector. As a longtime partner of MCN, we cannot wait to see the new opportunities this addition will bring to light.
September 26, 2017 - 2:26pm
Sowing the Seeds of Success
Thoughtful planning process yields better results for a new program at the MDA
Last spring, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) partnered with The Improve Group (IG) on a strategic planning process to implement a
August 31, 2017 - 11:05am
Evaluation Firm Hires, Promotes Key Staff
The Improve Group (IG) is pleased to announce several key changes to the company’s top leadership. The new structure will allow IG to continue providing excellent client service while building a solid infrastructure to carry out our strategic goals: Expand our tools and services to meet community needs; lead with a joyful and powerful team; and use our practice to promote positive social change.
July 27, 2017 - 2:13pm
Although summer has reached the halfway mark, we can’t let it go by without reflecting on the experiences of our recent interns—Audrey McIntyre and Michael Prideaux.
Our interns over the 2016-17 academic year, Audrey and Michael, worked on team projects for the Angel Foundation, the Highland Friendship Club, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and our work with Minnesota’s Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ATOD) grantees.
Both Audrey and Michael said that interaction with clients and involvement in project work were highlights of their internships.
July 26, 2017 - 4:50pm
IG shares evaluation tips and tools with evaluators and non-evaluators alike!
It’s almost that time of year again—fall conference season—and The Improve Group is preparing for a flurry of presentations and trainings. Building people’s evaluation skills aligns with our commitment to capacity building. We value this work because of the importance of equipping communities and organizations to navigate complexity so that they can make a sustained impact.
June 29, 2017 - 10:22am
Water touches all aspects of life in our state, including health, industry, and recreation. Even the name Minnesota—from a Dakota word meaning "land where the water reflects the sky”—demonstrates the importance of water in our lives. It is this deep connection that inspired an unlikely partnership of state agencies and six local communities to create We Are Water MN, a traveling exhibition that celebrates Minnesota’s love affair with water and engages residents in caring for this precious resource.
June 29, 2017 - 10:10am
One important aspect of our work that I am constantly reminded of is how creating space for clients to contribute their specialized knowledge leads to innovation and great ideas in evaluation projects.
May 31, 2017 - 10:30am
Here at The Improve Group, we have had the pleasure of developing relationships with certain clients, including some we’ve watched grow through our capacity-building partnerships. We value this type of work because of the importance we see in equipping communities and organizations to navigate complexity and have sustained impact. One client we have done extensive capacity building with is VocalEssence, a Minneapolis-based choral music organization.
May 31, 2017 - 9:48am
You may have heard the saying “What gets measured, gets done.” In Minnesota, nearly every program, initiative, or collaborative effort has an evaluation component. With the practical application of so many different evaluations, we wondered: What are the conditions that make an environment fertile for evaluation – and evaluators?
Here are 4 factors that make Minnesota a great place to be an evaluator:
1. A vibrant nonprofit and philanthropic economy