And then there were two: Argentina vs. France. Only time shall tell who the winner of the 2022 FIFA World Cup is going to be. Can't wait! Not sure how but this tweet made it to my feed yesterday, and I enjoyed it. It's from Ian King, about how weaknesses in all the teams in the competition emerge as it quickly unfolds, even after plenty of pre-tournament hype and predictions. Having said that, I simply can't buy the idea that France has been very lucky as many seem to suggest and debate. …
MNA Turns 18!
This week, MNA celebrated 18 years of its existence. Although I had opened the company (on paper) in 2004, I didn't "go all in" until 2009 after I finished my Ph.D. and had this existential question: Now what?! I left my then full-time job with a regular paycheck and benefits and took a chance. As Mark Cuban often says on Shark Tank: Are you an entrepreneur or a wantrepreneur? There have been several lessons learned. But overall, I am not disappointed. MNA's 18 years of sometimes …
MNA Attends The Quantum World Congress
What happens when an evaluator walks into the Quantum World Congress? Well, first, she hears a lot of chatter on qubits. Did she get a feeling that people are still trying to figure it out? Secondly, she is bedazzled with the brilliance radiating in the ballroom created by the physicists, academics, industry partners, government agencies staffers, investment bankers, policy makers, technocrats, bureaucrats, students, and K-12 educators from around the DC-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) area, …
On Making SMART Recommendations For SMART Program Goals
This happened just this past week. Client: Well, thanks for the evaluation report. You put a lot of work into it. However, we already knew the results before reading the report. So, we didn't learn anything new from the data findings. Me: Thank you for reading the report. Did you get a chance to go over the lessons learned/gaps and recommendations we provided at the end of the report? Client: Yes, we did. And it was the best part of the report. The recommendations were actionable, …
Giving Thanks
This Thanksgiving and all year round, we continue to be very grateful for the opportunity to do good work, collaborate with well-meaning people, staying safe and healthy. We are especially Thankful for: 1. Having clients who have paid us on time and on one occasion, one of them asked why our invoice was late? (I kid you not!) 2. Clients who have supported small and/or minority-owned businesses like MNA 3. Client(s) who "get(s) us!" 4. Clients who have sent us data in a very timely …
AAAS Partners With AIR, QEM, UW, and MNA To Launch The NSF S-STEM Resource and Evaluation Center
The vision of NSF’s Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) program is that all Americans, regardless of economic status, may pursue a STEM degree and contribute to the innovation economy. To that end, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and its partners: the American Institute for Research (AIR), Quality Education for Minorities (QEM), and MN Associates, Inc. (MNA) are launching the AAAS-NSF S-STEM Resource and Evaluation Center (REC), which will foster a network of S-STEM …
MNA To Work With Clemson On Two USDE NPD Grants
It pays to listen to your evaluator. No, really, it literally paid Clemson University $2.3M when the extremely talented PI, Co-PI, Drs. Emily Howell and Rebecca Kaminski keenly listened when I slightly nudged them to consider applying for another National Professional Development (NPD) grant during our luncheon session at the April 2022 OELA grantee-conference held in Arlington, Virginia. "Isn't it a bit soon? We were awarded our first NPD grant in October 2021," they remarked with a hint …
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Starting out as a small, 100% woman-and-minority-owned business in 2004-05 in the US was scary, uncertain, and full of "what ifs." One of the best pieces of advice that I received from another small-business owner in a similar line of work that I still hold true in my heart was: In our line of work, it is a marathon and not a sprint. Stay the course. You may not see a massive growth in revenue overnight or even exponentially across the years. But you will love what you do - because you are a …
Broward College Taps MNA To Evaluate Their Promise Neighborhoods Grant
A bit of news on this crisp fall Friday morning in October. After a long(-ish) wait of ~6 months (of a rigorous procurement process), MNA was competitively selected to conduct the external evaluation of the famed Promise Neighborhoods ("Cradle to Career") grant from the U.S. Department of Education to Broward College, FL. Authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Promise Neighborhoods program strives to improve the academic and developmental outcomes of …
We Have A New Mixed Methods Analyst
Remember, I had a job posting for a p/t mixed methods evaluator (Associate) position at MNA back in August? Well, we have found our new Associate! Got to be honest, it was not an easy find. As most of you will agree, mixed methodologists in Science and Social Science are quite unique. And those who can do Social Networking Analysis (SNA) are even rare! Extending a very warm welcome to Shelli Golson-Mickens! Shelli holds a B.S. in Biology from Spelman College and an MPH from University …