Leadership Development

Throughout its history, Metis has evaluated programs designed to promote leadership and build the capacity of educational institutions and community-based agencies. In 2006, with the addition of Dr. Manuel Gutiérrez to its staff, Metis expanded its focus in this area to the evaluation of various types of local and national leadership-development, leadership-recognition, and fellowship programs. Prior to joining Metis, Dr. Gutiérrez directed evaluations of the following leadership development programs:

• The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Children and Family Fellowship Program

• The Ford Foundation’s Leadership for a Changing World Initiative

• The Eisenhower Fellowships

• The Rockefeller Foundation’s Next Generation Leadership Program.

Manuel is the co-author of “Leading with Theory: Using a Theory of Change Approach for Leadership Development Evaluations” in the Handbook of Leadership Development Evaluation (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007).

Metis’s work in leadership development aims to identify successful practices, assess short-term and long-term program effects, and contribute to knowledge development in the field. For example, Metis is conducting a five-year evaluation of the New York City Department of Education School Leadership Program, which addresses New York City’s critical shortage of those prepared to lead high-needs schools. The firm recently completed an evaluation of a leadership initiative funded by the Wallace Foundation known as LEAD (Leadership for Education Achievement in Districts), which focused on leadership training for principals, assistant principals, and aspiring principals. To these projects, Metis brings significant expertise in leadership theory and practice, the theory-of-change evaluation framework and pathway-mapping process, qualitative and quantitative research methods, social-network analysis, and a participatory approach involving multiple stakeholders.