The Mission

STEMblazers inspires girls to visualize themselves in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math professions. We envision a world where women are equally represented in the STEM workforce.

The Situation

STEMblazers operates after-school programming, events, and other support aimed at students traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. In order to engage with local schools, attract corporate partners, and acquire funding, it is critical that STEMblazers be able to clearly convey the impacts and value of its program and create reporting for funders.

Limitations of an existing impact evaluation plan made it difficult to answer key questions from STEMblazers stakeholders, and current survey instruments did not provide the data needed for meaningful analysis. Without an effective way to understand the impacts it was driving, STEMblazers found it difficult to identify areas of strength and opportunity, or to communicate results to its board, potential donors/partners, or members.

Solutions Delivered

• Re-development of impact evaluation plan, including clear definition of goals and success criteria, identification of appropriate benchmarks, and clear articulation of research methods and data needs.

• Creation of surveys and other research instruments to capture the data necessary to measure key outputs as defined in the impact evaluation plan, including interview protocols, start- and end-of-semester surveys, meeting feedback surveys, and alumni surveys.

• Training for chapter leaders on survey distribution and increasing response rates. Created feedback loop to remove barriers and improve students’ experience with surveys in order to make the process more seamless and enable improved data capture.

• In-depth data analysis and presentation of results for first two semesters, showcasing member experience, progress against goals, performance against benchmarks, and clear recommendations for program enhancements. Facilitated successful handoff to STEMblazers staff for ongoing management.