SSG Research & Evaluation

At SSG Research & Evaluation (R&E) we work with community-based organizations, public sector agencies and philanthropic foundations to build research and evaluation capacity. We conduct needs assessments, research and evaluation activities, and use the results to bring about programmatic and policy change that further social justice movements. Our projects are concentrated in Southern California, with some statewide and national work. Our core philosophy focuses on matching technical expertise with deep community engagement. We recognize the strength that community members bring to research and evaluation as experts of their own communities and we seek to involve them throughout the research process, not only as research subjects, but also as researchers who are involved in all aspects of the research process. On all our projects, we are intentional about bringing forward the following values and commitments: • Social Justice • Equity • Cultural Responsiveness • Community Benefit • Transparency SSG’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) was established in 2004 to support community-based research projects conducted by SSG and our community partners. It is one of the very few community-based IRBS recognized by the Office for Human Research Protections. SSG is committed to promoting responsible community-based research that treats community members not as subjects, but as partners with knowledge to contribute to a field of study. SSG is one of 52 designated Census Information Centers (CIC) across the US. Through our CIC, we provide local and community access to census data, as well as training and technical assistance on census data for research, planning and decision-making for underserved communities. As a member of the CIC, SSG is recognized as an official source of demographic, economic, and social statistics produced by the U.S. Census Bureau.