ActKnowledge comprises a diverse, inter-disciplinary team of social scientists, activists, trainers, and planners. Some are staff, others are affiliates and consultant collaborators. We are based at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and affiliated with the Center for Human Environments, which affords us many opportunities for collaboration with faculty and graduate students. When the staffing need arises, our university setting gives us ready access to a pool of doctoral students in psychology, anthropology, and sociology with advanced skills in social science research methods.
ActKnowledge has particular experience in the fields of youth development, literacy, out-of-school time, organizing and advocacy, children’s rights, women’s rights, public space, and international development. ActKnowledge works with numerous organizations using Theory of Change as a goal-setting and strategy-framing methodology. Over the past decade, ActKnowledge has conducted hundreds of formative and summative evaluations using a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods. Our work ranges from multinational studies to local non-profit evaluations. Data from these studies have helped our clients make strategic decisions about country-level policy, international policies and practices, grant making, and programmatic change.
ActKnowledge has experience and technical capability in using social networking tools to share knowledge and learning. We are using Web 2.0 environments to support ongoing community networking, knowledge sharing, and feedback systems. We have used Google Groups and Google Sites for online data collection and training, WebEx and Yuuguu web-conferencing, Twitter and Facebook for bulletins and discussion forums. When feasible we use Survey Monkey and Zoomerang to administer surveys online.
ActKnowledge is strong in both quantitative and qualitative research methods. We have a particular skill and interest in qualitative research, which is powerful particularly in the formative evaluation tasks around coalitions and advocacy. We are very well versed in the design, use, administration, and analysis of individual and expert interviews, structured observations, surveys, and focus groups. At the same time we have substantive depth in quantitative data and analysis, and in effective ways of combining qualitative and quantitative methods to produce the strongest findings.
