Metis Associates, a national research and consulting firm headquartered in New York City, brings over 35 years of experience in evaluation, information technology, and grant development to its work with a wide range of organizations committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of children, families, and communities. They work closely with their clients, so that together they can strengthen their capacity to carry out their missions, make better decisions, and deliver more effective services. 

Metis Associates, an employee-owned corporation, is based in New York City with offices in Atlanta; Oakland, Calif.; and Philadelphia.

Their Mission

Their mission is to support public and private organizations in achieving results for the children, adults, families and the communities they serve. All of their interactions with clients, as well as all of their products and services, are driven by this goal of empowering clients. They help clients to identify and build on their strengths and expand their capacity with their knowledge, skills and technical expertise.

Their Approach

Metis plans all projects with one goal in mind: empowered clients. With increasing service demands and closer scrutiny from funders, organizations must be equipped with flexible and sophisticated tools to collect, analyze and disseminate information. Clients also need skills to use that information to effectively implement programs and policy changes.

Their interdisciplinary project teams, made up of professionals with first-hand experience in the areas of public education, social science, human service, and information technology, work closely to identify and understand clients' requirements. They then help to develop the tools and skills needed for effective information gathering, enabling their clients to identify the ways information can be used to shape policies and programs.

Metis places considerable emphasis on developing their clients' capacity. Building capacity may take many forms: for example, operating a client tracking system, managing community information, carrying out self-assessments or teaching how to develop a community-based survey. Their work enables their clients to:

• - Develop, implement and improve policies, programs and services
• - Manage and use information and information technology
• - Plan future directions
• - Develop the needed skills and tools to implement successful programs and evaluations

Specifically, their products and services enable thei r clients to:

• - Develop, implement and improve their policies, programs and services
• - Manage and use information and information technology
• - Plan their future directions
• - Strengthen their capacity by equipping them with the skills and tools to conduct these activities themselves

Regardless of the domain of work, their support runs deeper than their reports and analyses, their computer systems and other tangible products. They respond to the unique needs of their clients by actively seeking their input and involving them in all phases of their work. They value the relationships they develop with their clients and strive to understand their unique situations, philosophies, and motivations. They believe in their clients' missions, and they join them in working toward social reform.