About PSA
Founded in 1982, Policy Studies Associates, Inc. (PSA)—a woman-owned small business—conducts research, program evaluation, and policy analysis; supports stakeholder engagement; systems and capacity-building initiatives; and designs and delivers technical assistance and training.
We work closely with clients to support their goals, whether developing programs, creating measurement frameworks, informing policy, assessing impact, or providing training and technical assistance. We are flexible, adaptable, and committed partners, delivering innovative solutions tailored to their unique contexts. We prioritize high-quality products and practical, impactful solutions that improve outcomes.
Research, Program Evaluation, & Policy Analysis
PSA aims to help clients make sound decisions. We collaborate with clients to address their purposes, whether those involve the development or scale of a program, a measurement framework that supports continuous practice improvement, evidence-informed policy choices, or the valid assessment of impact. We customize our inquiry to the client’s purposes and ensure that our findings are actionable and useful. We take pride in work that is both relevant and rigorous.
Our staff are accomplished researchers, evaluators, and policy analysts skilled in state-of-the-art quantitative and qualitative methods. Our research teams generate creative research and evaluation design solutions that reflect the policy context. They are flexible, adaptable, and committed research partners who set high standards for data quality and analysis while delivering policy-relevant products with practical applications that contributed to improved practice.
Technical Assistance, Professional Development, & Training
PSA’s work is at the intersection of practice, policy and research, and our technical assistance and training leverages our expertise across those areas. PSA collaborates with clients to co-create customized technical assistance, professional development, and training curricula that directly supports clients in achieving their goals. Our approach is grounded in research, informed by data, and leverages evidence-based practices to address the unique context of each program or organization. As needed, we draw on the full bench of PSA staff experience to ensure each technical assistance, professional development, or training session is high-quality, results-driven, and aligned to our client’s vision.
Systems/Capacity Building
PSA is dedicated to strengthening organizations’ capacity to improve performance management systems, particularly related to collecting and using data for program quality improvement. We support planning, leadership development, and infrastructure, while also enhancing staff skills through needs assessments, stakeholder engagement, technical assistance, training, data management support, tool reviews, and actionable recommendations to boost internal capacity and operations. We seek to tie performance measures to key drivers of organizational performance, including theories of change.