The team at DVP-PRAXIS LTD believes in the ability of research and evaluation to make organizations and systems more equitable and effective, which is why our merger with Higher Ed Insight is a natural fit.
For the past twenty years (2004-2024), I’ve leveraged the breadth and diversity of my team’s individual skills and strengths to document implementation and measure impact across postsecondary education and training systems. Moving forward - through VSA Consulting LLC I hope to use my experience and skills as a Strategist, Change Agent, and Evaluator to support philanthropic organizations, national intermediaries, and non-profits to further equitable postsecondary educational opportunities and outcomes.
Our Principles
We approach evaluation with a commitment to principles that have grown out of an intentional and ongoing effort to understand how equity and power shape evaluation contexts.
These principles were developed collaboratively, with contributions and support from current staff, recent colleagues (Janelle Clay, Drew Curtis, and Jessa Valentine), and the Mirror Group and Change Matrix.
As we work with current and prospective clients, we welcome questions and reflections on how we developed these guiding principles, how they inform our praxis, and how we see equity and power shaping our work together.
✓ Evaluate Systems
We are committed to examining and documenting the experiences and outcomes of diverse populations through our data collection and analysis. We work to elevate the perspectives of those with less power in the evaluation setting.
✓ Contextualize Data
We are committed to learning about and reporting on systemic explanations for observed patterns in the data we’ve collected and analyzed.
✓ Amplify Diverse Voices
We are committed to understanding the cultural context and power dynamics around programs and initiatives to thoughtfully design evaluations and analyze data.
✓ Engage Communities
We are committed to engaging initiative leaders and beneficiaries as meaningful contributors by using participatory and inclusive processes.
VSA Consulting LLC
“I focus on being thoughtful and responsive to client’s needs, prioritizing relationship-building that allows for transparency and honesty.”
— Derek V. Price, Principal and Founder
-
Through VSA Consulting LLC, Derek will continue advising philanthropic foundations, national non-profits, state systems, and community and technical colleges around strategic evaluation design and change management.
Over his 25-year career, Dr. Price has been a college professor, grantmaker, and founder at DVP-PRAXIS LTD - a consulting firm that provides formative and summative evaluation services, along with strategic facilitation and advising, to document implementation and measure impact across postsecondary education and training systems.
He has published a book, Borrowing Inequality: Race, Class and Student Loans (Lynne Rienner, 2004) and authored or co-authored more than a half dozen peer-reviewed journal articles and more than 25 monographs.
While director of higher education research at Lumina Foundation (2001-2004), he helped launch the national initiative, Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count.2005
He provides honest and candid feedback to clients, facilitates reflective inquiry, and designs evaluations with an eye toward informing equitable change. His leadership recognizes that longstanding structural inequities affect students’ choices and opportunities and can inhibit organizational change.