Research, Monitoring & Evaluation

Federal leaders are expected to show what their programs achieve, the value they deliver to the taxpayer, and to make decisions based on evidence. Many programs, however, run in complex, fast-changing, or hard-to-access environments where reliable data is difficult to get. McColm designs and delivers rapid studies, strategic assessments, and monitoring and evaluation services that give decision makers credible, timely evidence they can act on.

We start with the decisions our findings need to inform or the questions are clients need answered. Then we build tailored, rigorous, mixed-methods approaches that fit the audience and operating environment. Our team combines evaluation expertise with regional, cultural, and language knowledge, and trauma-informed approaches that enable us to collect data responsibly from trauma-affected populations and in sensitive and conflict-affected settings. Our researchers utilize AI tools for rapid data analysis, provide human validation, and read results in context, then develop recommendations that are practical, actionable, independent, and grounded in how programs actually work.