With 120+ Evaluators and growing in the Network, we are highlighting an ACE Evaluation Network Member each month to share their experiences and current projects with the ETB® community.

Advancing Culturally-responsive and Equitable (ACE) Evaluation Network Member Randal Pinkett, PhD is an accomplished evaluator, entrepreneur, and scholar, serving as co-founder and CEO of BCT Partners, a leading consulting and analytics firm advancing equity through insights on diversity. Recognized by Forbes and Black Enterprise, BCT focuses on data-driven solutions for DEI and social innovation. A Rhodes Scholar and winner of NBC’s “The Apprentice,” Dr. Pinkett holds five degrees and is a sought-after expert in big data, emerging technologies, and organizational equity.

What first attracted you to the ACE Evaluation Network?

When I started my independent evaluation practice 10 years ago, I quickly learned that any opportunity to connect with other evaluation practitioners would be invaluable. Over time, the questions I bring to these spaces have changed. My early interests in the ACE Evaluation Network were around the unique networking and professional development opportunities. My own culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE) practice was taking shape organically as I worked with one of my first evaluation clients — a local coalition focused on racial equity in mental health. Through the ACE Evaluation Network, I was eager to sharpen my analysis and hone my own evaluation approach by better understanding how it fit within the framework of CREE.

There are several things that attracted me to the ACE Evaluation Network. First, was the opportunity to connect with other racially and ethnically diverse evaluators and evaluation firms. Second, was to connect with evaluation funders looking to expand their relationships and, more specifically, increase the diversity of businesses they contract with. Third and finally, was the commitment to culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE). I spent the early years of my career as a researcher applying the principles of inclusive, community-led, participatory action research and asset-based community development (ABCD). So, when I first learned about CREE through the ACE Evaluation Network, it immediately resonated with me.

What do you value most about the ACE Evaluation Network?

I most value the networking and the community that comprises the ACE Evaluation Network. The mission of my firm, BCT Partners, is to harness the power of diversity, insights, and innovation to transform lives, accelerate equity, and create lasting change. Moreover, in 2022, we acquired Community Science, a social enterprise that uses its expertise, skills, and profits to support equity and social justice. We are an equity-centered organization that is always looking to grow our relationships, our expertise and our impact. So, to be able to networking with, and be part of a community of other equity-centered professionals, organizations, and funders both affirms our values and enhances our ability to do this work effectively.

What’s a current project you are working on?

BCT has developed an analytic method – Equitable Analytics™ (EA) – that leverages subject matter experts, existing program administrative data, AI and machine learning algorithms to build highly accurate, valid, and reliable assessment, evaluation, and decision-making tools. This analytic approach trains AI machine learning algorithms to build predictive, prescriptive, and evaluative models that determine what causes a desired outcome for each segment of a target population – individuals, groups, organizations, or communities. Said differently, we can apply this technique to determine what interventions are most effective for “cases” (i.e., individuals, families, etc.) and “places” (i.e. neighborhoods, communities, regions, etc.).

BCT has also developed a big data and AI architecture – the Equitable Impact Platform (EquIP) – that houses longitudinal annual American Community Survey (ACS) data, gathered by the Census Bureau and IRS Form 990 data (annual tax forms submitted by all nonprofits and philanthropies in the U.S.), and can be combined with local data sets, to: (a) evaluate if and how much funders and nonprofits are contributing to improvements in the community well-being of their local service area; and (b) assess nonprofit capacity, business models, financial health and governance needed to effectively deliver their services to the local community. The power of this platform is its ability to provide automated, reliable insights that support decision-making through interactive dashboards.

BCT has successfully applied these techniques across several sectors with various partners including psychiatric residential mental health for children (Gemma Services and Scattergood Foundation), substance abuse (HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), elder care and maltreatment (HHS Administration for Community Living), child welfare (First Place for Youth, Casey Family Programs, Broward Sheriff’s Office), STEM education (National Science Foundation), juvenile justice (Florida Department of Juvenile Justice), economic security and wealth (Living Cities), workforce development (NYC Center for Employment Opportunities), and nonprofit effectiveness (MacArthur Foundation), to name a few.

To learn more about Randal, view his Evaluator Database profile.