Technical Assistance Initiatives

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In addition to providing technical assistance in evaluation, Compass has provided internal quality assurance for and conducted evaluations of technical assistance efforts. One of our projects is the evaluation of the IDEA Data Center (IDC). IDC is an OSEP-funded data center that provides technical assistance to build capacity within states for collecting, reporting, analyzing, and using high-quality IDEA data. Our evaluation of the quality and outcomes of IDC’s services and resources has involved interviewing or surveying state staff who receive technical assistance, utilize resources, or participate in IDC events or peer groups; coordinating and facilitating an expert panel to review IDC resources; compiling project data (e.g., technical assistance tracker, website analytics, documents); and completing a scoring rubric for states receiving intensive technical assistance. The rubric was adapted by several other centers (e.g., CEEDAR, CIID, NCEO) and was presented on at the 2018 OSEP Project Directors’ Conference as an approach for assessing the quality of intensive technical assistance.