"Ongoing coordination and evaluation of the project process would not have been successful without the use of Robertson Consulting Group, Inc. Their knowledge of United Way practices and county government operations allowed a willingness to work one-on-one with agencies, funders, United Way, and county staff contributed a key element to the evolution of the project goals. I call it diligent patience", Cheri Coryea stated. "Robertson Consulting Group is the invisible Super Glue that holds this project together, with it's ability to look from the outside in."
Cheri Coryea Manager/Community Services Manatee County Government

Robertson Consulting Group

Clients and Projects

Robertson Consulting Group has many repeat clients - a sign of satisfaction with both the quality and the service of the firm. Our clients include community foundations, United Way affiliates, state government, county governments, and nonprofit organizations. In addition, Robertson Consulting Group has worked on evaluation projects with the University of South Florida and Florida Gulf Coast University (including the federally-funded Transition to Teach program).

While Robertson Consulting Group provides evaluation services to a variety of clients throughout the nonprofit and government sector, there are some areas where we have developed special expertise. These include community assessments, disaster evaluation, evaluating community-wide initiatives and collaborations, impact reporting, and leadership development. A few examples are highlighted below:

US Department of Defense: Recovery Credit System - Proof of Concept Evaluation

The purpose of this evaluation was to provide an objective and thorough evaluation of the three-year proof of concept for both the process and the intended impact and to assess the utility of the Recovery Credit System. The evaluation team collected data from six sources to answer the seven evaluation questions: a peer review panel of three independent scientists, all successful and unsuccessful landowner bids, program documents, habitat assessments on eight contracted sites, seventeen interviews with participating landowners, and twenty-four interviews with program operators, military personnel, and other stakeholders. The final report documented both process and impact as well as providing recommendations to consider when replicating this model.

State of Florida Department of Health: Community-based Tobacco Prevention and Control

Robertson Consulting Group evaluated local tobacco control and prevention programs in the 67 counties of Florida. Activities and intensity were analyzed to determine their consistency with established scientific guidelines and to assess resource effectiveness. The final report, submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, documented process and outcomes as well as proposing a long-term evaluation plan for the community-level tobacco prevention work.

Gulf Coast Community Foundation: Lessons Learned

After Hurricane Charley (as well as Frances and Jeanne), the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice commissioned a Lessons Learned project to determine how the nonprofit community had responded to the 2004 hurricane season. The project included a five-county online stakeholder survey, draft report, listening sessions in three counties, and a final report that outlined ideas for improving response to future disasters.

Lee County: Human Services Council Strategic Plan

Lee CountyThe project included bi-annual data collection for the Human Services Council Strategic Plan. Data includes consistently collected indicators in the areas of community demographics; alcohol, drugs, and mental health; health; children's health; children and youth; juvenile justice; and seniors. This document includes graphical representation of the data in as well as contextual data from the community resource team. The report is used to track progress against goals and to assist other funders in identifying where to best spend resources.

United Way of Sarasota County: Future of Philanthropy

This project has two objectives: to collect data on the current status of philanthropy in Sarasota County along four dimensions and to stimulate positive change. Phase I of this project included a review of literature on the four dimensions. We identified typical quantitative data and an assessment of qualitative studies. In addition, key informant interviews were used to determine best practices. Robertson Consulting Group then facilitated the stakeholder group as they identified information needs and appropriate methodologies.

Gulf Coast Community Foundation: Building Better Boards

Robertson Consulting Group is the evaluator on Building Better Boards initiative in three states. The Building Better Boards initiative is a community-wide leadership development effort. The evaluation consists of pre and post board online self-assessments, post-session participant training evaluations, phone interviews, observations, and online interim surveys. As part of this project Robertson Consulting Group manages the online self-assessments; to date, over 2,000 board members have taken the assessment.

United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta: Neighbors Helping Neighbors

AtlantaUnited Way of Metropolitan Atlanta commissioned Robertson Consulting Group to conduct a study of the effectiveness of its $11 million dollar initiative to resettle Hurricane Katrina evacuees and also to determine the current needs of evacuees in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The study had four major components: a document review, an online stakeholder survey, 21 key stakeholder interviews, and a mail survey of Hurricane Katrina evacuees. Study results were presented in two reports: Lessons Learned and Evacuee Status.