Let’s Talk Training

This series is designed for individuals with little to no previous experience or who want a refresher on the basics. Our aim is not to make you an expert on these topic but to give you a sense of what is possible, a community of peers, and some direction for where to go next in your learning journey.

These trainings are led by our partners at Petersen Research Consultants and DataWise Consulting. Each training is spread out during a week, typically on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 1.5 - 2 hours each day. These are interactive workshops with individualized support available during and after each session. They will not be recorded.

Let's Talk Outcomes and Indicators

Is your organization struggling with how to show your impact? If you want to learn what data to collect (and more importantly, what you can stop collecting), this training is for you. This workshop covers:

  • Understanding how your organization helps create change
  • Utilizing a Logic Model to define program outcomes
  • Selecting indicators to track progress towards those outcomes

Let's Talk Interviews and Focus Groups

Want to meet real people face-to-face and figure out how to elicit answers of interest? Whether you are planning to conduct qualitative research or just want to explore what these methods have to offer, this training is for you. This workshop covers:

  • Developing questions and other important logistical considerations
  • Adopting an empathetic posture and keeping the conversation on track
  • Bridging qualitative and quantitative work through structured data tables

Let's Talk Surveys

Want to learn the fundamentals of developing and using surveys to collect data? Whether you have a survey to revise or need to create one from scratch, this training is for you. This workshop covers:

  • Developing questions and response options
  • Formatting print and electronic versions
  • Addressing issues during dissemination

Let's Talk Data Preparation

So, you have a spreadsheet of data. Perhaps your organization recently conducted a survey. Now what? Join us to learn the basics of data preparation using Microsoft Excel. During this series, you will learn to clean, transform, and start analyzing data using formulas and pivot tables. We will also introduce you to Microsoft Power Query, a free data tool for Excel. These skills may not sound glamorous, but they are essential to moving from data collection to data visualization. If you are working with data in a spreadsheet, this is an opportunity you don't want to miss!

Let's Talk Data Visualization

Wondering which chart is going to get your point across to your audience? Stop wasting time with graphs that fail to make sense of your data, and join us to learn the basics of quality data visualization. We believe anyone can leverage the power of data visualizations, regardless of background! We will discuss storytelling with data, what quantities to compare, choosing an appropriate chart, and things to avoid to ensure your message is clear.