About
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Plotline Evaluation is an independent, veteran-owned evaluation practice led by two principals. One or both of us lead every project personally. We do not delegate our work or farm it out.
We evaluate programs for government agencies, nonprofits and health services, and we evaluate businesses. We have worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Movember, among many others.
We are a mixed-methods practice. The numbers show what changed and by how much. Interviews, focus groups and observations show why. We design both into the evaluation from the start, read each against the other, and report them as one story.
Who leads Plotline Evaluation?
Two principals: John K. Trainor, PhD, senior evaluator and medical anthropologist, and Scott West, MEd, BSCS, qualitative evaluator, data scientist and applied AI specialist. One or both lead every project personally; nothing is delegated or farmed out. Plotline Evaluation is veteran-owned, works remotely with clients across the United States and internationally, and has worked with the CDC, SAMHSA, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Movember, among many others.
John K. Trainor, PhD
Senior Evaluator and Medical Anthropologist
PhD in anthropology. Former evaluator at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Scott West, MEd, BSCS
Qualitative Evaluator, Data Scientist and Applied AI Specialist
Scott leads our qualitative work, from collecting the data to making sense of it. He has run needs assessments, surveys on paper and online, one-on-one interviews, observations, and dozens upon dozens of focus groups with a wide range of populations. Then he tells the story in the data through clear, well-designed visualizations.
A Marine Corps veteran, he has worked extensively with veterans and first responders on suicide prevention and post-traumatic stress, work that depends on trust as much as on method.
He also brings two decades of operational management in business, in logistics and other industries, so our business evaluations start from how the work actually gets done.
What we do
Programs and grants
Evaluation of every kind, impact evaluations included, from logic model to final report: surveys, focus groups, interviews, observations, needs assessments, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and expert data visualization.
Our experience is extensive in health care, tribal health, suicide prevention, post-traumatic stress and depression, veteran support services, first responders, domestic violence, human trafficking, missing and murdered Indigenous women, child support services, pregnancy and postpartum services, and recidivism and other prison-related support services, among many others.
We also provide REDCap consulting: administration, survey design and longitudinal project setup.
Survey design is a service of its own as well: writing, build, fielding and analysis under one quote.
Businesses
Our experience extends to business operations and business evaluations. We evaluate operations, financial performance, and processes and procedures: how the work flows, what the numbers show, and whether the written procedure is the one people follow.
How we work
Useful first
An evaluation earns its budget when people can act on it. Every deliverable is built for the people who have to use it, then for the file.
Methods that fit
Surveys, focus groups, interviews, observations, needs assessments and the data you already hold, chosen for the question and for the staff time you actually have. Mixed methods: qualitative and quantitative, together.
Plain reporting
Findings in plain language, visualized well, and delivered in the formats you will use: full report, executive summary, slide deck, one-page brief or dashboard. The technical detail is there for anyone who wants to check the work.
Standards
Our work follows the American Evaluation Association’s Guiding Principles for Evaluators: systematic inquiry, competence, integrity, respect for people, and common good and equity.
Both of us are certified by the CITI Program in human subjects research, in both the biomedical and the social, behavioral and educational tracks: the basic training that institutional review boards expect of anyone who collects data from people.
Questions people ask
Who does the work on each project?
One or both principals, John K. Trainor, PhD and Scott West, MEd, BSCS. We do not delegate our work or farm it out.
Are you trained in human subjects research?
Yes. Both principals hold CITI Program certification in human subjects research, in both the biomedical and the social, behavioral and educational tracks: the training institutional review boards expect of anyone who collects data from people.
Is Plotline Evaluation veteran-owned?
Yes. Scott West served in the Marine Corps and has worked with veterans for two decades. John K. Trainor worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs as an evaluator.
Which organizations have you worked with?
We have worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Movember, among many others.
Do you only evaluate government and health programs?
No. We evaluate programs for government agencies, nonprofits and health services, and we evaluate businesses: operations, financial performance, and processes and procedures.
Talk to us
A short call is the fastest way to find out whether we are the right fit for your program or your business.
Every inquiry is confidential. We never sell or share your information. Privacy policy.