Core Services
Policy Studies Associates, Inc. (PSA)—a woman-owned small business founded in 1982—provides a wide range of solutions and services to nonprofit organizations, local state and federal government agencies; foundations; and universities. PSA conducts research, program evaluation, and policy analysis; provides technical assistance and capacity building support; designs and delivers professional development and training; and supports systems design and implementation.
We are flexible, adaptable, and committed partners, delivering innovative solutions tailored to the unique contexts of our clients. We prioritize high-quality products and practical solutions that improve outcomes.
Research, Program Evaluation, & Policy Analysis
PSA helps clients make informed, actionable decisions by customizing projects to their goals—whether scaling programs, developing measurement tools, or assessing impact—ensuring relevant and rigorous results.
Technical Assistance & Capacity Building
PSA helps organizations improve performance by enhancing data use, planning, leadership, and capacity for conducting needs assessments, trainings, and data management. We connect performance measures to key improvement drivers using theories of change.
Professional Development & Training
PSA partners with clients to develop tailored professional development and training that directly supports their goals. Our approach is research-based, data-informed, and leverages evidence-based practices to suit each organization’s unique context, ensuring high-quality, results-driven sessions aligned with clients’ vision.
Systems Design & Implementation
PSA specializes in systems design, integrating evaluation with performance management to support effective program and policy implementation. Our strategic planning helps clients align, adapt, and improve their systems, with a focus on stakeholder engagement through task forces and work groups to ensure diverse perspectives and broad buy-in.
Content Knowledge & Expertise
Our staff possess deep knowledge and expertise in education, learning supports, social services, and post-secondary success. These interconnected and overlapping areas enable us to transfer insights and best practices across disciplines. We are committed to continuously expanding, refining, and applying our knowledge to advance social service programming and policy, ensuring our work remains innovative and impactful.
Methods
PSA is known for its ongoing, transparent client communication, ensuring project methods align with needs. Its skilled staff excel in data collection, analysis, and building clients’ evaluation capacity. Our reports focus on clarifying the complex links between interventions and outcomes, often combining quantitative and qualitative data for comprehensive insights. Depending on client goals, our reports may identify strengths and challenges, recommend capacity-building strategies, or suggest options for sustaining and scaling programs in the future.
Our Work with State Agencies
The Pipeline Center
Our Clients
A trusted partner for more than 40 years, PSA has worked with federal, state, and local government agencies; national, regional, and local nonprofit organizations; private foundations; and public and private universities.
“The strength of [PSA] is their ability to seamlessly integrate into the agency...they don’t approach the work with their own objectives. Instead, they work to deeply understand the objective of the SEA leadership team and to help the SEA achieve those goals.”
SEA Leader
“The [PSA Team] have been instrumental in developing the skill and expertise of [our] school leaders particularly in the area of the art of coaching. Feedback from school leaders has been extremely positive. Additionally, the [State DOE] appreciates the professionalism and collaboration the [PSA Team] continuously provides...[PSA] staff are driven by action, by purpose, by relationship-building, and by structure.”
District Principal Supervisor
“The whole process was helpful. Having a talented and experienced team to offer support to aspiring superintendents, and who could leverage experience with both local and national education issues made the program impactful and engaging for the participants.”
Aspiring Superintendent Participant
“The [PSA Team] was responsive to our needs. I never felt that they were delivering a product. Rather, they were partners in co-creating improvements for our district.”
District Assistant Superintendent
“This group [The PSA Team] is so talented. They are approachable, engaging, and collaborative! They listen carefully and adjust according to the organization's needs.”
Education Leader
“[PSA] services helped me, and my organization make progress on our many school improvement initiatives. The [PSA] partnership proved to be essential for [our agency] to move the needle forward on the various school improvement initiatives we had at the time.”
SEA Leader
“We truly appreciate the [PSA Team] sharing the research across the country, providing us with best practices and support in developing the CSI Monitoring Tool. This user-friendly tool will hopefully serve as a model for the Department.”
SEA Leader
“The [PSA Team] collected valuable and honest feedback from stakeholders who likely felt more comfortable sharing more nuanced and detailed information with neutral researchers instead of the Department as a regulatory agency. The insight helped inform the resulting policy guidance to help school districts.”
SEA Leader
“The [PSA Team] provided research-based information that allows [State DOE] to implement effective practices and metrics for work-based learning. The work produced informed policy and revision of regulations.”
SEA Leader
“It was an honor to work with the [PSA] team. I felt that I learned personally as a leader and that we were able to build the capacity of new and experienced colleagues to create supports for LEAs…there were tangible increases to staff capacity in modernizing systems, conducting needs assessment, and most significantly, breaking down long-entrenched silos across the agency.”
SEA Leader
“[PSA] services have played a significant role in helping our school make meaningful progress over the past few years. Through the support and resources provided by the [PSA Team], we were able to implement targeted interventions that directly addressed student needs, particularly in areas such as social-emotional learning, mental health support, and academic engagement.”
Education Leader
“The team is so easy to work with. Planning and prepping was organized and efficient. The team is the most talented I've seen in a long time. Their knowledge and wisdom of equity is immeasurable.”
District Leader