Research
What we do
Participatory research services rooted in community and collaboration
We uncover meaningful narratives from data. Through respectful and thoughtful engagement, we help you assess your community’s needs, bridge gaps, and promote local strengths.
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Community research
Using surveys, interviews, financial analysis, focus groups, and spatial-asset mapping, we create a holistic picture of each community.
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Feasibility studies
We analyze the viability of initiatives through in-depth data collection, listening sessions, case studies, and cost projections.
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Evaluation
We help evaluate the effectiveness of programs and services to understand what’s working and what can be improved.
Jordin Simons and Halima Mohammed, Sweet Grass interns, facilitate an ice breaker activity with youth from Thunder Valley CDC's Youth Leadership Development Initiative during Sweet Grass' field school on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
Community members work together to build a fire pit.
We partner with community leaders to
Conduct community-driven research to identify strengths, challenges, and opportunities in housing, health, food systems, and economic development.
Provide culturally responsive analysis and insights that help communities and partners design strategies for development, sovereignty, and equity.
Translate data into action through reports, assessments, and planning tools that support long-term community well-being and self-determination.
Max Van Oostenburg, associate research director, leads an activity at a community meal with Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico.
Community-led tools and techniques
Our team uses a participatory, whole systems approach to support long-term development, combining experience and data to understand how an organization can improve and grow.
Our work with Sweet Grass has helped us raise the voice of our neighbors who live challenging lives in an area that has been purposefully and historically ignored for generations.
Julie Keel, Mountain T.O.P.