Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative Invites Researchers Across UW–Madison to Use Its Expertise
April 22, 2026 | By Karen Rivedal, Office of Research & Scholarship
From left, WEC Co-Directors Steve Kimball, Annalee Good and Brad Carl are focused on working more closely with campus partners.
The Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative (WEC) is building deeper connections with campus partners by providing evaluation expertise in support of research and program improvement.
At the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), WEC partners with school districts, universities, state agencies, and community organizations to plan, implement, and support evaluation-related program improvement. WEC also offers capacity-building on issues such as education policy, elevating youth voice, and Culturally Responsive Indigenous Evaluation.
WEC applies a flexible partnership approach, tailoring projects to a variety of budgets and organizational needs. “WEC designs practical, actionable frameworks so our partners can focus their energy on core research and program execution,” said Annalee Good, one of three WEC co-directors, along with Steve Kimball and Brad Carl. “Our knowledge of the Wisconsin education landscape means we bring immediate contextual understanding to state and local projects.”
Now is an ideal moment for more campus colleagues to connect with WEC for upcoming projects. “We are committed to deepening our partnerships on the UW–Madison campus,” said Kimball. “We want to make it easy for campus researchers and departments to leverage our support for upcoming grant proposals or other collaborative activities, such as internal evaluations.”
A current example is WEC’s partnership with WIDA, an organization within the School of Education that supports multilingual learners. WEC provides WIDA with evaluation support and feedback on its professional learning portfolio and develops tools to track policy changes for multilingual learners. These efforts guide WIDA’s planning and outreach.
WEC also recently partnered with the School of Education’s Office of Data and Analytics to improve the school’s use of institutional data. Together, they developed a Data Dialogue inquiry to guide strategic planning and operational decisions. The WEC team worked with office leaders and key stakeholders to identify data assets, assess needs, and set priorities.
Collaboration has extended beyond the School of Education to include other campus departments and the Universities of Wisconsin. Since 2023, WEC has supported the Office of Educational Opportunity at the Universities of Wisconsin in reviewing prospective charter schools and in providing data and oversight support to the office’s current schools, which serve nearly 2,500 students across Wisconsin. Other examples include evaluation support for the UW Odyssey Project, such as alumni surveys, interviews and collaboration with the School of Human Ecology and the ThedaCare project on youth digital media.
In addition to external evaluation support, WEC staff have helped other School of Education units with shared staffing. If units are engaging in a comprehensive review or initiating a special project that exceeds their current staff's capacity, WEC staff can add temporary capacity, helping the department or unit avoid hiring someone permanently, depending on the project's focus and fit.
Regarding grants or other external funding proposals, Carl emphasized that collaboration works best when it begins early. “Bringing us to the table during the grant-drafting phase allows us to help write the evaluation narrative,” he noted. “This ensures the proposal is competitive, methodologically sound, and clearly tied to the project’s goals.”
Carl also cited the benefits of looking internally for high-quality evaluation support and noted WEC’s deep investment in the success of campus colleagues.
WEC offers evaluation services, including logic modeling, evaluation planning, data sourcing and collection, and surveys and focus groups. WEC also uses statistical analysis and data visualization. Clients participate throughout to develop their ability to handle future evaluation work independently. WEC uses practices that deeply respect and uplift the communities served. For more details about services and support, visit WEC’s website.
Hire WEC to leverage expert evaluation support on a fee-for-service basis or written into a grant proposal as a subcontractor. Complete a brief form to get started.
About the Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative (WEC)
WEC is a community of evaluators with diverse content and methodological expertise, plus an outreach clinic that serves small projects through applied training for graduate students in evaluation and research methods. Learn more at wec.wceruw.org.
About the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER)
WCER at UW–Madison’s #1-ranked School of Education is one of the world’s oldest and most productive education research centers. WCER has supported researchers and scholars in developing, submitting, conducting and sharing grant-funded education research for over 60 years. Visit wcer.wisc.edu for more information.
