Our mission is to elevate the stories, experiences, and evidence of people and programs using evaluation and communication to support learning and informed action.

How We Work

We believe data are only as good as the actions they enable.

Our firm is built for leaders who view evaluation as a strategic tool for learning and growth rather than as a compliance requirement. As your thought partner, we pair rigorous methodology with a people-centered approach to ensure our findings move your mission forward.

We are creative problem solvers. We move beyond standard metrics to provide deep-dive, tailored insights that serve two purposes. First, we document and celebrate the successes of your team, your programs, and the communities you engage with and serve. Second, we use data to propel forward movement. By putting people at the center of our process, we transform traditional evaluation into a collaborative journey toward organizational excellence.

Evaluation and Research

Dynamic evaluation and innovative research designed to generate data and results you will use

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Strategic Planning

Apply research to practice and track data-driven decisions to guide development and implementation of your programs

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T

DIY Resources

Our best tips, videos, and publications to provide practical “just in time” support

 

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What We Do

We are a program evaluation team focused on helping you make programmatic improvements that serve you, your partners, and your community. We work well in the messy middle between project management and evaluation management, natural and social science, evaluation and educational research. We believe in using data to tell stories with and for different audiences, including community members, project participants, project implementers, researchers, and funders.

Catalyst Consulting Group was founded in 2022 as an extension of Karen Peterman Consulting, Co.

This change is a reflection of the company we have grown to become, We’ve tried to work as catalysts for a long time. The new name simply state those intentions up front.

Read Our Story

We don’t work with just anyone! We value partners who are interested in building upon existing, trusting relationships with priority populations, and those who are open to new ways of partnering with us to think and learn together.

Interested in a partnership?

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What We Believe

People matter.

Data tell stories and stories are data.

Data help drive decision-making.

Hear from Our Amazing Clients:

Invaluable to our Project

Karen and the whole team have been invaluable to our project; their expertise in evaluation has provided so many insights on what we are doing well and where we could improve. And, just as important, the team is a joy to work with; they are professional, responsive, organized, thorough, fun, and genuinely care about the people they work with. I look forward to collaborating with Karen and the team on many future projects!

– Susan Park, Executive Director, Coastal & Estuarine Research Federation

Leading with Purpose

I had the opportunity to collaborate with Dr. Karen Peterman of Catalyst Consulting Group on the development of a New Directions for Evaluation volume focused on people-centered evaluation. From the outset, Karen brought clarity of purpose, disciplined project management, and a leadership presence that elevated the work. For me, what distinguished Karen’s leadership was her ability to sustain momentum across a complex, multi-author effort. She balanced encouragement with accountability, keeping the team aligned to shared goals, especially when energy waned. I would absolutely welcome the opportunity to partner with Dr. Peterman again and recommend her, without reservation for initiatives requiring strategic leadership and meaningful impact.

– Katrina L. Bledsoe, Ph.D. Partner, Strategic Learning Partners for Innovation

Data-Driven Understanding and Inspirational Visioning

As the founder and coordinator of Learning Landscapes for 22 years, I needed the right evaluator to provide a mix of data-driven understanding and inspirational visioning in our region. Using innovative methodologies and evaluation best practices, the Catalyst team listened deeply, integrated their understanding of our local realities with universal practices and norms, and facilitated a process known as Ripple Effects Mapping. It was the perfect tool and process to capture our varied stakeholder voices and interests while identifying the regional impacts and outcomes through our two decades of Learning Landscapes work. The resulting synthesis was exactly what we needed to guide the next 22 years and beyond. It fostered incredible trust in our region and our partnership model grew stronger as a result.

– Robert Jordan Wade, Learning Landscapes Coordinator, Feather River Land Trust