Study design
Services for Independent Living
The Mission
Services for Independent Living (SIL) is a non-profit Center for Independent Living that promotes independence for persons with disabilities, seniors, and veterans.
The Situation
Services for Independent Living (SIL) secured grant funding to complete the Missouri Centers for Independent Living Demonstration Project to Promote Independent Living. The study was designed and commenced in 2023, and leverages a series of assessments aimed to capture data used to understand and articulate the usage and value of SIL services to consumers across Missouri.
Though the study was underway, SIL was unsure whether the planned approach was appropriate to meet the organization’s objectives, potentially resulting in an inability to draw clear and accurate conclusions from the data, creating risk of low ROI for funding/efforts to conduct study, and negatively impacting SIL’s fundraising / lobbying efforts.
Solutions Delivered
Review and assessment of current study design in order to identify limitations, including population selection, data capture, and statistical validity.
Presentation which clearly articulated findings and recommendations, successfully influencing leadership to take action to address study shortcomings to ensure adequate results.
“Beth's expertise included not only insight into data analysis and the project gaps but insight how to present those gaps to the leadership in a way that gave confidence those changes may get buy-in.
We have a study with a number of important gaps that will make our data incomplete or hard to communicate. By helping us draft a gap analysis and create a professional presentation that made the gaps appear clear, identifiable, and actionable, we were able to educate the leadership of the need to revise the study before it was too late. We will have a much stronger and more effective study now, that can address more fully the complete diversity of audiences.
By putting focus on finding a clear immediate deliverable amid a still organizing project, and working with me on an important deadline, I was able to ask the most important questions and get my concerns heard and acted upon by a better educated leadership. Working with Beth was very easy, as she asked the right questions to lead me to see the next step even before she laid it out for me. Her communication and teamwork skills made it both pleasant and a good education experience for me as well, as she helped me not only to produce but to understand the deliverables."
—John Greer, Services for Independent Living