About the Evaluator
With 25 years’ experience in social science research, program evaluation, survey design, and data analysis, Candiya Mann specializes in helping clients tell their stories with data. She has served as the independent evaluator for over 50 grants, representing over $109 million, across a number of federal agencies (NSF, NIH, DOL, DoED, NOAA, and USDA). Clients range from federal grant recipients to state agencies, community colleges, nonprofit organizations, and private sector firms.
She has evaluated 28 ATE grants, including national centers, resource centers, and projects. She is the longtime evaluator for InnovATEBIO and its predecessor, Bio-Link, as well as a number of related ATE grants in the biotech space. She served on the advisory committee for EvaluATE, the ATE evaluation resource hub, and has presented at several EvaluATE workshops. She has a Master of Public Administration in International Management from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
Evaluation Background
I specialize in...
- Mixed methods
- Utilization-focused evaluation
I have worked with projects in the areas of:
- ATE Centers
- ATE projects
- NSF projects other than ATE (e.g., IUSE, S-STEM, AISL, HSI, ADVANCE)
- Projects at two-year colleges
- STEM education projects supported by funder other than NSF
Training and Certifications
- Graduate coursework in evaluation
- Professional development workshops, webinars, or online courses on evaluation
Outside of Work, I enjoy...
… reading, spending time with my tri-pawed dog, hiking, and riding motorcycles
A Successful Evaluation...
… gives the client a clear understanding of where they currently stand, how they can improve, and what they are doing well. It provides evidence of the impact of their work, which they can use to help achieve their next round of funding.
My Working Style...
… is collaborative. While I am an external evaluator, I still view myself as part of the team.
EvaluATE is supported by the National Science Foundation under grant number 2332143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed on this site are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.