Evaluation & Research that Connect

Committed to supporting social-purpose organizations and connecting their data and stories to impacts

I'm Sara Hsiao. I approach evaluation and research creatively and analytically, while valuing different worldviews and intersecting lenses. I am dedicated to supporting engagement that is inclusive, accessible, and honours people’s experiences and knowledge.

Organizational and programmatic evaluation can often feel like a dense forest, where you are expected to track microorganisms while also seeing through the canopy of trees.

But, when using culturally-relevant and practical tools that fit your needs, results can illuminate nuances of our complex systems and provide evidence that pushes for social justice.

I support collaborative learning processes that make connections.

Connections that:
  • Light pathways to reaching goals
  • Facilitate reflection and storytelling
  • Demystify data and demonstrate results
  • Uncover strengths and opportunities
  • Encourage and nurture relationships
  • Link people, their stories, and actionable change

Services

Evaluation

Facilitating learning strategies that spark generative conversations, integrate into existing ways of working, and catalyze the utility of data

Research

Enhancing results, recommendations, and decision-making with focused inquiry and reputable resources

Design & Visualizations

Creating visual products that help digest complex information, enrich communications, and bring narratives to life

Project Management

Organizing the details and fostering efficient work flows to meet deadlines and deliverables

Partners

Sara Hsiao smiling on a white backdrop

I'm Sara

I come from a long line of “guest families”, who travelled through diverse parts of Asia and finally to Canada. I am privileged to have so many cultures inform my identity, and I take my role as ‘guest’ seriously. I am an avid learner, listener, space giver, celebrator, organizer, and sharer.

My strengths derive from being committed to positive systemic and long-term change. I have over 14 years of experience working with non-profits, Indigenous organizations, philanthropic organizations, governments, and academia. I have built lasting relationships with partners in remote and diverse communities across Canada and abroad, and I apply interdisciplinary perspectives to the complexities of environmental sustainability and community wellbeing.

I hold a Masters of Research and an Honours BSc, and have completed internationally recognized courses in monitoring and evaluation, results-based management, and reconciliation through Indigenous education. My most significant learnings have come from the people and communities that I have been lucky to work with and learn from.

Contact

I acknowledge and respect that I live and work on the Saugeen Ojibway Nation Territory of Saukiing Anishnaabekiing, specifically Treaty 72 Area. The region is also known as the Saugeen/Bruce Peninsula in rural Ontario. It is the traditional territory of the Anishnaabeg, Odawa, and Mississaugas.

Being a guest to this land, I am grateful to reside here and build relationships with this place and its people. I am personally committed to better understand the rich history and current realities of the territory and the Indigenous communities who call this home, and to continue learning and journeying towards reconciliation and justice.

Get in touch

sara@sarahsiao.ca