Taking the Evaluation Leap: Lessons from Urban Alliance’s Six-Year Randomized Controlled Trial (Fall 2017)

Stories, especially transformational ones, are a powerful tool for describing an organization’s real-life impact, but another valuable tool is objective proof. In summer 2017, Urban Alliance completed a six-year randomized control trial (RCT)—the gold standard of program evaluation—and in the process were themselves tested. This article describes the ups and downs of this grueling process. by Eshauna Smith