Our Work
Every engagement is different, but our approach is consistent: listen carefully, ask good questions, bring together multiple forms of evidence, and translate what we learn into practical action.
Explore selected examples of how Open Road has helped organizations understand impact, navigate complexity, strengthen programs, and plan for what comes next.
Evaluating Transition Outcomes for Youth with Disabilities
Best Buddies Maryland Transition ProgramProgram Evaluation
· Mixed Methods · Disability Services · Continuous Quality Improvement
Evaluating Change Across an Early Childhood Ecosystem
First 10+ Young Mathematicians | Education Development Center Systems
Evaluation · Early Childhood · Implementation · Family Engagement · Theory of Change
Turning Policy Complexity into Actionable Systems Change
Fiscal & Policy Analysis for the Sustainability Planning Project
Policy Analysis · Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities · Self-Direction · Systems Change
Evaluating Transition Outcomes for Youth with Disabilities
Best Buddies Maryland Transition Program
Program Evaluation · Mixed Methods · Disability Services · Continuous Quality Improvement
The Challenge
Best Buddies Maryland provides transition-focused programming designed to help high school students with intellectual and developmental disabilities build the skills, confidence, and knowledge they need to prepare for adulthood, employment, and postsecondary opportunities.
As the program expanded across Maryland, leaders needed more than outcome data. They wanted to understand how students were experiencing the program, whether programming was producing meaningful change, what was working well in implementation, and where the program could continue to grow and improve.
Our Approach
Open Road designed and conducted an independent mixed-method evaluation that brought together multiple perspectives and sources of evidence.
The evaluation included:
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Pre- and post-assessments of transition-related skills
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Student focus groups and accessible polling activities
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Classroom teacher and program staff interviews
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Classroom and program observations
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Stakeholder surveys
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Curriculum and materials review
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Quantitative analysis of participant outcomes
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Qualitative thematic analysis
The evaluation examined both outcomes and implementation, allowing us to explore not simply whether change occurred, but how participants experienced the program and what organizational and programmatic conditions supported success.
From Data to Action
Rather than treating evaluation as an end-of-year judgment, Open Road approached the work as a tool for continuous learning.
Findings from students, educators, program staff, observations, and quantitative measures were integrated to identify areas of convergence, explain patterns in the data, and distinguish program strengths from opportunities for continued development.
Recommendations addressed areas including experiential learning, family engagement, employment and postsecondary partnerships, transportation and accessibility, instructional approaches, program reach, and ongoing outcome monitoring.
What We Delivered
Open Road provided:
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A comprehensive mixed-method evaluation report
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Quantitative outcome analyses
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Qualitative findings across stakeholder groups
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Implementation findings
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Data visualizations and accessible findings summaries
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Actionable recommendations for program improvement
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Guidance for strengthening future outcome monitoring
The Value
The evaluation provided program leaders with a fuller picture of program impact, combining measurable participant outcomes with the experiences of the students, educators, and staff closest to the work.
Just as importantly, the evaluation supported a cycle of evidence, reflection, adaptation, and continuous improvement, helping program leaders use findings to strengthen subsequent programming.
Selected project information is shared as an example of Open Road's evaluation approach. Detailed findings and participant information may be omitted to protect client and participant confidentiality.
Evaluating Change Across an Early Childhood Ecosystem
First 10+ Young Mathematicians | Education Development Center
Systems Evaluation · Early Childhood · Implementation · Family Engagement · Theory of Change
The Challenge
First 10+ Young Mathematicians is a multi-partner early mathematics initiative designed to strengthen children's opportunities to experience joyful and meaningful mathematics across classrooms, families, and communities.
Evaluating an initiative of this kind requires looking beyond a single outcome or stakeholder group. Program leaders needed to understand how implementation was unfolding across settings, whether educator and family experiences were changing over time, how different components of the initiative were interacting, and whether the conditions necessary for longer-term change were developing.
Our Approach
Open Road conducted a multi-year, mixed-method external evaluation designed to examine change across multiple levels of the early childhood ecosystem.
Our approach integrated:
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Educator surveys
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Family surveys
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Longitudinal analyses
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Educator and family focus groups
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Key-informant interviews
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Implementation data
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Quantitative and qualitative analysis
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Theory of Change analysis
Rather than examining each data source in isolation, we looked for patterns across stakeholder groups and over time.
This allowed us to ask a larger question: Is the initiative creating the interconnected conditions needed to support sustainable change?
Connecting the Pieces
A central component of the evaluation was examining findings in relation to the initiative's Theory of Change.
We considered how changes in educator knowledge, confidence, and practice interacted with family experiences and engagement, implementation supports, community partnerships, and broader conditions surrounding children's early mathematics experiences.
Triangulating quantitative and qualitative evidence helped distinguish isolated findings from patterns appearing across multiple sources and provided important context for understanding why those patterns might be occurring.
What We Delivered
Open Road's work has included:
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Multi-year external evaluation
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Survey development and analysis
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Longitudinal statistical analyses
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Focus groups and key-informant interviews
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Qualitative thematic analysis
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Data integration across stakeholder groups
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Theory of Change analysis
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Data visualizations and accessible reporting
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Recommendations for implementation and sustainability
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Guidance for strengthening future evaluation and data infrastructure
The Value
The evaluation helps program leaders move beyond asking simply, "Did it work?"
Instead, the evaluation examines what appears to be changing, for whom, through what processes, under what conditions, and what is needed to sustain or deepen that change.
This systems-oriented approach provides leaders with evidence they can use not only to demonstrate progress, but also to strengthen implementation, guide future investment, and plan for sustainability.
Selected project information is shared as an example of Open Road's evaluation approach. Detailed findings may be omitted or adapted to protect client and participant confidentiality.
Fiscal & Policy Analysis for the Sustainability Planning Project
Policy Analysis · Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities · Self-Direction · Systems Change
The Challenge
Planning for the future can be particularly complex for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who rely on family members and other natural supports, especially as caregivers age and support needs change.
The Sustainability Planning Project explored promising approaches for strengthening long-term supports for people with IDD who self-direct their services.
Understanding whether promising approaches could be expanded required looking beyond whether an idea was desirable. Leaders also needed to understand the policy environment, fiscal implications, implementation barriers, systems infrastructure, and practical conditions that could help or hinder adoption.
Our Approach
Open Road partnered with the Self-Directed Advocacy Network of Maryland and Collaborative Strategies, Inc. to conduct a qualitative fiscal and policy analysis.
Using a multi-goal policy analysis framework, the research examined promising practices through multiple lenses, including:
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Potential benefits
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Fiscal and resource considerations
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Policy and regulatory barriers
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Implementation feasibility
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Ethical considerations
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Systems infrastructure
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Opportunities for state-level action
The work included semi-structured interviews with national experts in disability policy and service systems as well as review and analysis of relevant policy documents.
Looking Beyond Individual Policies
Complex human service challenges rarely sit neatly within a single program, funding stream, or policy.
Our analysis therefore looked for connections across practices and systems—examining not only whether individual approaches could work, but what would need to be true within the surrounding system for them to work well.
This included identifying areas where policy interpretation, provider infrastructure, cross-system coordination, investment, training, technical assistance, and stakeholder engagement could influence implementation.
Making Complex Findings Accessible
Policy analysis is only useful when people can understand and act on it.
Findings were translated into both detailed analysis and plain-language communication so that complex policy and fiscal considerations could be accessible to a broader group of stakeholders, including people with disabilities, families, advocates, service providers, and policymakers.
What We Delivered
The project included:
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Fiscal and policy analysis
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National expert interviews
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Policy document review
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Qualitative content analysis
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Cross-model and systems analysis
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Identification of implementation barriers and facilitators
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Plain-language findings
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Policy and practice recommendations
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Visual and accessible reporting
The Value
The analysis translated a complex set of policy, fiscal, and implementation questions into practical information that could support planning and decision-making.
By bringing together research evidence, policy analysis, stakeholder expertise, and attention to implementation, Open Road helped identify not only what changes might be valuable, but what systems would need to do to make those changes possible.
Selected project information is shared as an example of Open Road's policy and systems analysis. Some findings and details may be omitted to protect project partners and participants.
