Evaluations

At NYC Opportunity, evaluation is central to our mission. We systematically assess the impact of our programs and citywide initiatives to:

• Improve program design and implementation;
• Measure effectiveness and impact of our investments; and
• Inform policy and budget decision making

We develop program-specific evaluation strategies, taking into account factors such as data availability, program implementation stage, and timing of expected outcomes. These evaluations generate insights that can inform program and budget decisions, contribute to public policy and advance best practices in the human services field. We are striving to make rigorous evaluation and monitoring practices a standard across all City agencies.

Our evaluation activities are led by an in-house team, in partnership with City agencies and 11 external evaluation firms that provide independent and objective analyses. David Berman, the Director of Programs & Evaluations, leads this comprehensive evaluation effort.

Read reports from evaluations of programs in NYC Opportunity's portfolio are listed with descriptions of each initiative.

Since its start, evaluation has been used by NYC Opportunity to drive programmatic improvement, measure effectiveness and impact, and to help the City determine what programs are effective- or not. In addition to assessing its own programs, NYC Opportunity also partners with City agencies and other Mayoral offices to lead or assist with evaluations of key citywide Mayoral initiatives. Evaluations are conducted by independent external evaluation firms. Methods used are specific to each initiative, and employ a wide range of qualitative and quantitative strategies.