Apex Evaluation

Jargon is a huge problem in evaluation. Our Systems Learning? approach rehabilitates a simple set of jargon, turning it from noise - where there isn't a shared understanding of the terms we use - to signal where each term is clear, consistent, and useful for operationalizing the work. Let's talk about a key part of Systems Learning?: Perspective. Perspective is paramount. It influences every other pattern of thinking and how we build and use a body of evidence. When we talk about equitable evaluation practices, we pay special attention to the role perspective plays in thinking and learning. How do various perspectives view homelessness, for instance? Some may be prone to making character assessments or circumstantial inferences.?We join those who adopt an empathy-first approach, seeking solutions and suspending judgment. Here's a great depiction of the power of perspective, from the systems thinking resource we utilize with all staff: https://lnkd.in/eJ8Grzne. As Cabrera Lab puts it, "Perspective determines not just what we look at, but what we really see." Apex Evaluation's work with nonprofits addressing housing insecurity underscores our commitment to inclusive perspective-seeking, asking and answering the questions that matter most. We're driven toward positive change, partnering with programs that help populations move from vulnerability to resilience to thriving. Evaluation is at its best when it engages and is responsive to an inclusive set of perspectives, including those who hold decision-making power, those doing the work in the field, and those most affected by the work. Inclusion of these three essential perspectives encourages us to pose better questions, to more accurately acknowledge discrepancies in our collective knowledge, and to co-create more accessible, meaningful, and useful theories of change, data collection tools, and implementation plans. It fosters the humility and wisdom needed for shared and actionable learning. That's #evaluationthatworks.

We're #hiring! Apex Evaluation seeks a Data Strategist to support a variety of evaluation and data analysis projects based on the?Apex Blend (https://lnkd.in/g8W8ti-e), a combination of theories and methods rooted in systems thinking and equitable evaluation. This position will develop and implement data strategy and analysis projects, serving as a key team member to lead implementation. This is a cross-departmental, internal- and external- facing member of the evaluation team and reports to the Evaluation Program Manager. Primary objectives: - Designs and conducts advanced wrangling and quantitative analysis of large datasets - Provides strategic guidance and technical expertise for the development of data products - Serves as a team lead on highly complex data analysis projects This remote, full-time position pays $90,000 annually. Apex practices a four-day, 32-hour work week. For best consideration, submit your online application by March 13, 2025: https://lnkd.in/ena5-jDJ. Target start date is May 5. Visit our Careers page (https://lnkd.in/gqT-N2vj) for a full list of perks and benefits. #dataforgood #openjobs #evaluation #strategy #collaboration #opentowork #systemsthinking #equity #equitableevaluation #dei

Are you our next teammate? We're #hiring! We're seeking a Data Specialist to support the delivery of successful projects through data management while offering direct support to the Data and Compliance Team. This position requires someone with strong communication skills to represent Apex to partners while facilitating quality assurance and quality improvement efforts. The role demonstrates strong attention to detail, personal accountability, and effective task management.? We're accepting applications through Feb 3, so check out the job posting below. For a full list of perks and benefits offered at Apex, visit our Careers page: https://lnkd.in/gqT-N2vj Access our Employment Application Form here: https://lnkd.in/ena5-jDJ. #hiring #datajobs #evaluation #dataforgood #jobopening #dataspecialist

Our nation’s youth are not immune to the tide of stressors in the recent past. A global pandemic. International and domestic conflict. A turbulent election year. Real, systemic support for youth mental health can be glaringly absent. COVID triggered a spike in demand for remote behavioral healthcare, and the shifting landscape of regulations directly impacts telehealth accessibility. Improvements were made during the pandemic, but telehealth reimbursement and regulations can form a barrier to care. We explored what’s happening for behavioral health providers in New York’s school-based health centers (SBHCs), through an evaluation supported by the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access (PMHCA) grant funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSAgov), HHS in partnership with the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Child Health and the New York School-Based Health Alliance. In partnership with the Alliance, Apex created an online survey to help us and partners understand the perspectives of SBHCs with telehealth for behavioral health services. We took time to slow down, ensuring we shared mental models with our partners, enabling us to move fast when collecting data. What we found is concerning. SBHCs surveyed stated that they receive one-third reimbursement for telehealth services compared to in-person visits - regardless of insurance status - which constricts clinic’s ability to offer needed remote support.?This aligns with a Manatt Health report: “In particular, Article 28-licensed FQHCs that have not opted into Ambulatory Patient Groups (APGs) may only bill their ‘off-site’ rate for a telehealth visit when both the provider and patient are off-site, rather than the full Prospective Payment System (PPS) rate. This billing structure effectively reduces payment in these circumstances from the PPS rate by an average of one-third ($75 compared with $215 dollars in 2023; rates vary by FQHC and geographic location).” https://lnkd.in/ezMDQac8 Medicaid only covers SBHC telehealth services if the provider is onsite. If only the patient is onsite, or neither provider nor patient are onsite, telehealth services are not billable.?Sponsors in the state responded that they need advocates for policy change and reimbursement; telehealth systems training; and outreach to the larger community around telehealth availability and benefits. Throughout the project, Apex worked with the Alliance to understand the broader context and local landscape of SBHCs and telehealth services. Our conversations supported evaluation, plus interpretation and sensemaking of the data. Apex’s work informed the Alliance’s decision-making, strategy, and advocacy. Findings will be shared with sponsor organizations, providers, funders, and policy makers to support public awareness of availability, benefits and barriers to telehealth behavioral healthcare for the students of New York.

The Walton Family Foundation teamed up with Apex Evaluation to explore the impact of their Legal Technical Assistance Fund (LTAF), designed to support grantees helping their communities. Changemakers within the Walton Family Foundation’s grantee base include organizations improving education; those protecting rivers, oceans, and the communities they support; and those advancing the foundation’s home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas/Mississippi Delta. Grantees are working hard to serve their communities and often lack necessary resources to navigate complex legal issues. The LTAF pilot benefits smaller, newly formed, under-resourced community organizations and prioritizes inclusion and belonging. Part of the LTAF provides voluntary legal education trainings to grantees. As part of our evaluation work, Apex surveyed Year 1 training participants. The findings? A 100% positive response rate from year 1 training participants, affirming that they would attend future training sessions sponsored by LTAF. We continue to work closely with foundation partners to adapt our evaluation to the needs and speed of implementation. Delivering insights to funders, so they can better support organizations close to their hearts. That’s evaluation that works. Learn more about how Apex makes a difference, one community at a time, on our diverse Portfolio page: https://lnkd.in/gP5us44d. #evaluation #dataforgood #philanthropy #changemakers #legaleducation

Apex is a consulting firm specializing in Systems Learning?. For over twenty-five years, we’ve facilitated strategic planning, evaluation, and technical assistance for a wide range of initiatives. We align with partners addressing the wicked problems of poverty and income inequality, health and education disparities, and racism and discrimination. So, what exactly makes a wicked problem? Wicked problems have many interacting variables that are evolving in dynamic social systems and contexts with factors that are often incomplete, in flux, and difficult to define. They persist in part because these biases and assumptions are built into the way we process and use data, and, even more so, because of the structures of power and influence that determine whether or not mental models actually change. The institutions of philanthropy and evaluation are wicked problems unto themselves. Wicked problems are associated with fast thinking, which Daniel Kahneman in Thinking Fast and Slow calls our “jumping-to-conclusions machine,” where assumptions and biases go unchecked. Fast thinking has no time for context or perspective, which is where, according to David Epstein in Range, we are most likely to find solutions to wicked problems. Slow thinking, conversely, is where we are explicit and intentional about challenging assumptions, exposing biases, and revealing new stories that give context and meaning to data. Systems Learning? is designed to facilitate slower thinking for emergent learning about wicked problems. Slower thinking informed by a diversity of perspectives surfaces breakthrough solutions. Reach out to us at [email protected] to discover how Systems Learning? can transform evaluation for your organization. #systemslearning #wickedproblems #volatility #evaluationthatworks #dataforgood #volatility #complexity #unpredictability

Come see us! Apex Evaluation is at the Head to Toe conference at the Albuquerque Convention Center - SMG. We're near our valued partners, the New Mexico Department of Health and New Mexico Alliance for School-Based Health Care. Stop by to learn how Apex is changing the landscape of school-based health, empowering school nurses, and making evaluation work in education and healthcare for our communities. Want your own demo of our groundbreaking School-Based Health Center Data Hub? Click here! https://lnkd.in/ereAeCG7 #h2t2024 #dataforgood #schoolhealth #adolescenthealth #evaluationthatworks #newmexicotrue #evaluation #schoolnurses

What would it feel like to work for an organization that creates our own definition of success, inclusive of work culture and employee satisfaction? Where work-life balance, staff empowerment, and employee retention are at the forefront. Where our vision of achievement includes happy teams, happy clients, and happy partners. That's how we operate at Apex Evaluation. Apex staff are also parents, caregivers, students, advocates, and volunteers. We have real lives. Real responsibilities. Real priorities in and outside work. Our policies reflect that reality and support the diversity of talent we call Apex. (Hear directly from Operations Manager Brandon Lee, M.A. on the benefits of our six-week parental leave policy for him and his family: https://lnkd.in/gcgS7c4Q.) Another way we empower staff to maximize their focus and productivity is through protected time on Wednesdays and Fridays. We endeavor for these to be no-meetings days, allowing us to dive even more deeply into the thinking and innovation Apex is known for. Leora Linfield, MPH - Apex Project Manager and mother of three young daughters - explains the value of this bounded time: "I utilize my no-meeting days by focusing on tasks I would not have time to complete on busy meeting-packed days. They afford me the time and mental focus to spend adequate time - knowing I will not have to pivot and change my train of thought to a meeting - on important work-related items. With this type of day automatically carved out, I am able to complete work in a timely manner, and keep projects moving along." People first. It's how we create a culture that nurtures our staff and cultivates an environment we all want to work in. That's evaluation that works, for our clients and for our team. For a full list of perks and benefits of working at Apex, check out our Careers page: https://lnkd.in/gqT-N2vj. #dataforgood #humanresources #nomeetingsdays #flexibleschedules #parentsupport #caregivers #focus #deepwork #supportingfamilies #workingfamilies

Apex Evaluation brings our deep thinking and groundbreaking innovation to the American Evaluation Association conference year after year. Meaningful work deserves to be shared and celebrated. We believe in the importance of both. Incisive discussion, thoughtful questions, professional camaraderie, and - of course - delicious food. It's all part of belonging to the amazing team of evaluators, consultants, and strategists who represented Apex at #aea2024. - Carlos Romero, Chelsea Henkel, Catherine Bornhorst, Fiona Thomas and Elena Schmidt, Ph.D. presented "Using Systems Learning? and Youth Participatory Evaluation to Shift Paradigms, Grow Evaluator Skills, and Evolve Organizational Practices": https://lnkd.in/e9Kr5ait - Chelsea Henkel and Catherine Bornhorst presented “Gathering Diverse Student and Educator Perspectives on Engagement: Uncovering a Story of Misunderstandings and Supporting Realignment," sharing findings from a pivotal project involving the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado League of Charter Schools: https://lnkd.in/eJ5iw6z6 - Lenka Berkowitz and Alliance for a Healthier Generation's Tiffany Poore presented their poster, "Leveraging Systems Mapping to Prioritize Community Voice": https://lnkd.in/enrYPh3F Interested in working with us? Reach out to [email protected] to get in touch. #evaluation #dataforgood #impact #education #youthvoice #youthparticipation #mixedmethods #data #analysis #systemsmapping #communityvoice #perspectives #systemsthinking #systemslearning