Services
What Can POLIS Do for You?
POLIS provides professional services to philanthropists, foundations, nonprofits, businesses, government agencies, institutions and community partners.
All Services
The Ways Organizations Engage POLIS
Each service can be delivered on its own or combined into a larger engagement. Data & Insights, including GIS analysis, runs across all of them.
Community Engagement & Facilitation
Listening sessions, convenings, workshops and collaborative planning.
See What Is IncludedResearch, GIS & Community Intelligence
Assessments, surveys, GIS mapping, service gap analysis, findings and recommendations.
See What Is IncludedStrategy & Partnership Development
Stakeholder alignment, collective impact planning and investment planning.
See What Is IncludedImpact Measurement & Evaluation
Data analysis, indicators, progress tracking and program learning.
See What Is IncludedCommunications & Storytelling
Research translation, impact stories, multimedia and public-facing communications.
See What Is IncludedFellowship Research
Commission a POLIS Fellow to investigate the question that matters to you.
See What Is IncludedCommunity Engagement & Facilitation
Creating the conditions where residents, partners and institutions can think and decide together.
- Listening Sessions & Community Conversations
- Stakeholder Convenings
- Workshops & Working Sessions
- Collaborative Planning
- Consensus Building
- Meeting & Process Design
Research, GIS & Community Intelligence
Understanding what is happening in a community, and where, before deciding what to do about it.
Research & Community Intelligence
- Needs & Opportunities Assessments
- Surveys & Community Feedback
- Interviews & Focus Groups
- Landscape & Asset Analysis
- Findings & Recommendations
GIS Analysis & Data Visualization
- Asset & Resource Mapping
- Community & Neighborhood Mapping
- Service Gap Analysis
- Geographic Investment Analysis
- Spatial Pattern & Trend Analysis
- Interactive Maps & Data Visualization
Questions GIS Can Help Answer
- Where are community assets located?
- Where are needs concentrated?
- Where are service gaps?
- What resources already exist?
- What populations are being reached?
- Where are investments currently flowing?
- How do community conditions vary geographically?
- Where might additional investment create greater impact?
Strategy & Partnership Development
Turning shared understanding into aligned action, governance and investment.
- Stakeholder Alignment & Shared Priorities
- Collective Impact Planning
- Implementation & Action Planning
- Philanthropic Investment Planning
- Partnership Structures & Governance
- Decision-Making Frameworks
Data and GIS analysis may inform strategy when appropriate.
Impact Measurement & Evaluation
Knowing whether the work is doing what it set out to do, and what to change next.
- Qualitative & Quantitative Data Analysis
- Outcome & Indicator Development
- Performance & Progress Tracking
- Program Learning & Improvement
Communications & Storytelling
Translating research and community voice into something people can understand and act on.
- Research Translation
- Impact Stories & Case Studies
- Multimedia Content Development
- Data & Visual Storytelling
- Reports & Public-Facing Communications
Fellowship Research
What Question Matters Most to You?
Through the POLIS Fellowship, philanthropists, foundations, businesses, nonprofits, and public institutions can hire a POLIS Fellow to investigate an issue that matters to them and turn what they learn into actionable insight. Fellows are supported by POLIS’s Data & Insights capabilities and the broader POLIS ecosystem as needed.
Research May Include
Methods are selected to fit the question being asked, and may include:
- Literature Reviews & Existing Research
- Community Listening & Engagement
- Interviews & Surveys
- Qualitative & Quantitative Analysis
- GIS Analysis & Asset Mapping
- Data Visualization
Questions We Can Explore
Research can be built around virtually any issue affecting people, families, communities, or philanthropic investment, including:
- Maternal Health
- Concentrated Poverty
- Economic Mobility
- Fatherhood
- Family Well-Being
- Faith Communities
Potential Deliverables
Findings are delivered in whichever form makes them most usable for your decision, including:
- Research Studies
- Findings & Recommendations Reports
- Investment Briefs
- Community Assessments
- GIS & Geographic Analyses
- Executive Briefings
Next Step
Explore our Fellows’ expertise, research interests, and experience to find the right fit for the question that matters to you.
Not sure which Fellow is right for your research? Tell us what you want to explore, and POLIS will help identify the appropriate Fellow or research team.
Work With POLIS
Tell Us What You Want to Know Better.
Every engagement starts with a conversation about the decision you are trying to make.