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Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning that make a difference.

COMPASS. תכנון, מחקר והערכה שעושים שינוי

WE CHOOSE TIKVA (HOPE)

COMPASS was created in 2000 by Social Science professionals, deeply committed to  Israeli society and the global Jewish sphere. Our aim is to provide a map and a compass based on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) to help guide social change organizations to maximize their results. We believe that our actions lead to social impact, ultimately resulting in a fairer, more united and open-minded society.

The focus of everything we do at COMPASS is: PEOPLE.

We respect people from all walks of life, we like to meet them and listen to their fascinating stories, we like to gain an in-depth understanding of their thoughts. We see it as a privilege that our work gives us the opportunity to empower people.

Partnership & Trust

The building blocks of mutual professional creation

Cutting Edge

Mastering innovative know-how to provide the appropriate solution

Flexibility & Adaptivity

Adapting ourselves to the dynamic environment

Cultural Sensitivity

We respect, appreciate and are sensitive to diverse cultures in our work

Practical Deliverables

Focusing on providing practical value and promoting social impact

SOLUTIONS

COMPASS’s contribution to social change organizations is based on varied solutions: Characterization and development of “theories of change” and models, planning and executing evaluative frameworks and monitoring systems, aimed at generating learning. Our solutions are relevant for a wide range of social processes, from focused programs through strategic policy guidelines affecting wide population bases.

Our approach and professional tools are tailored to each specific case according to the unique characteristics and needs of the organization. We either do the work ourselves, or we guide the organization towards internal evaluation capacity building.

We believe in models, in sound theories, and in case studies. Yet, our work is aimed at utilization and action: principles and consequences pointing your way ahead.

PARTNERS

COMPASS sees itself and the organizations that it partners with as belonging to a “community of change”. As members of this community we work together, and believe that partnership, collaboration and reciprocity are the ingredients for optimal results.

TEAM

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Youval Porat

Working towards a more cohesive and equal society

Married with 3 children, social activist at the local and national levels. Over 20 years of experience with planning, evaluation, research, and consulting to NGO sector organizations and to government offices/agencies. Youval holds an MA in Sociology from the Hebrew University, and a BA in Communications and Management.

 

“My revelation came during my military service. As a boy which all his friends graduated from high school, I was sure that this was the norm. Only in the army did I meet people my age who didn’t receive a high school diploma or didn’t even finish high school. Suddenly I learned that our society is made of a wide diversity of people with different backgrounds, abilities & opportunities and that if we want to work together we need to find common ground. That’s what drives me to this day.”

ניצן-הלפרן-פורת

Nitzan Halpern-Porat

Enjoys harnessing professional expertise to promote equality, fairness and people growth

Married, mother of 3, an Occupational Organizational Psychologist, with over 20 years of experience leading and managing ground-breaking processes in the fields of HR assessment and development in large organizations. Nitzan holds an MA in Psychology from Tel Aviv University.

 

“As a child in the Kibbutz I remember my father going to his job as the General Manager of the factory in the morning and then dishing out food at the communal dining hall in the evening (as part of his communal service), all with the same passion and professionalism. That is where my value system was formed, and those values go with me throughout my personal and professional life: To take on any task, no matter how small, in the best way possible, to be a team player and to contribute to the common good.”

team-Keren-Ben-Natan-Kruger

Keren Ben-Natan Kruger

I believe in individual ability to influence organizations

Married, mother of 3, a veteran immigrant (Olah) with over 25 years of experience in the area of strategic planning and research in large organizations. MSc in Organizational Behavior from Tel Aviv University.

 

“I made Aliyah at the age of 16.5 from the US. I quickly found myself asking – how do I fit in? What’s my place? In retrospect, this experience served to empower me. Similar questions continue to accompany me from a professional standpoint – what is the individual’s place in the organization, and how do they influence each other? I find that the development of models bridging the gap between the individual, the organization and back serve as a powerful professional tool for impact and development.”

פרופיל יותם

Yotam Amitai

Believes in fulfilling the dreams of organizations and of those who work in them

Married with 3 children, a social psychologist. Yotam has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of organizational consulting and evaluation with high ranking officers in the IDF and in local municipalities. He has an MA in Social Psychology from Ben Gurion University.

 

“Ever since I was young I was interested in the social groups and different cultures that make up our society. I always looked for bridges and communication paths to lesser-known populations. I adopted outlooks and practices aimed at strengthening knowledge and familiarity, striving for assimilation, cohesiveness and the collaborative growth changes of the various social groups and individuals living together in Israel.”

We believe in networks and collaborations, so we turn to other experts and professionals from a variety of outlooks so as to widen our scope and continuously raise the bar with the solutions we offer.

Youval Porat during Principles Focused Evaluation Workshop moderated by Michael Q. Patton – click to watch a tribute to Leonard Cohen

American Evaluation Association 20200

RESOURCES

We are pleased to include the following list in the hope you find resources that are useful to you. If you are seeking additional information, we encourage you to contact us.

Evaluation methods

For readings on evaluation methods and tools – with thanks to Dr. Judy Samuels for the recommendation. Substantial information can be found here.

A variety of concepts displayed as a periodic table on Sara Vaca’s web site

Innovative methods

If you are unfamiliar with advanced evaluation methods, we recommend reading Developmental Evaluation, Principle Focused Evaluation and Outcome Harvesting

The concept of community

To better understand the concept of a “community” we recommend reading the first chapter of “For the Purpose of Mutual Change” (Hebrew only) written by Dr. Sarah Shedmi of “Shdemot” at Oranim College

U Theory

Introduction of U Theory is recommended by our friend Tali Raz from the HATRIBUNA, dealing with participatory leadership

AEA Annual conference

Our friend Dr. Liora Pascal, former head of Evaluation unit at the Avi-Hai Fund, staunchly recommends participating in the annual conference of the American Evaluation Association (AEA). We tried it and we are hooked! This is what Youval posted on FedCentral following the 2018 conference

IDF’s General Staff Forum

One of the few research papers written about the General Staff Forum was written by Yotam Amitai and Tamar Barash. You can read it here (Hebrew only)

Participatory evaluation

Evaluation processes have evolved in the last few years from a hierarchic process managed by ‘experts’ to a participatory process. Our friend David Fetterman recently published a book on the subject

Evaluation? Research?

How many times have you tried to explain what evaluation is and got all tangled up? Dana Wanzer tries to supply an answer to the connection between research and evaluation

Youth empowerment evaluation

Traditional evaluation among youngsters used to treat them as subjects. Cara Karter suggests we climb the ladder and integrate youngsters in different levels of evaluation decisions. Worth a thought, isn’t it?

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