Bureau of Evaluation and Research Services

What We Do

• Program and grant evaluations
• Research design
• Data collection
• Data analysis
• Data visualization
• Data wrangling, cleaning, and management
• Grant seeking, writing, or review
• Review of empirical research literature
• Other research support as requested

How We Work

BEARS brings together leading faculty expertise in education and behavioral health with the practical experience of our in-house applied researchers. We work collaboratively with stakeholders to design responsive, rigorous, and actionable research and evaluation solutions.

External Partnerships

We partner with schools, agencies, healthcare organizations, nonprofits, and community groups to support research, evaluation, and data-informed decision-making.

Internal Support

We assist UND faculty with foundational research needs, including literature searches, funding opportunity searches, survey development, data collection, and other early-stage project support.

Student Development

We engage and mentor graduate students through hands-on experience in applied research, evaluation, data analysis, and professional communication.

Who We Work With

BEARS can provide services to many types of organizations, including:

• State agencies
• Educators and faculty
• Schools and districts
• Healthcare organization
• Foundations and other funders

North Dakota’s Quality Rating and Improvement System – Bright & Early ND

BEARS conducted the first comprehensive evaluation of Bright & Early ND, North Dakota’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), using a mixed methods design to assess provider perspectives on the system across the state. To support the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services in decision-making, strengthening system design, and guiding future investments in early childhood quality, BEARS developed and implemented a mixed methods evaluation that included a systematic review of relevant documents, along with statewide survey data and focus group interviews with childcare providers. BEARS then analyzed and integrated quantitative and qualitative findings to capture both broad trends and in-depth perspectives across diverse program settings, generating evidence-informed insights for policy and practice.

Understanding ND Absenteeism & Strengthening Attendance Project

BEARS was contracted with the K-12 Coordination Council: North Dakota Legislative Subcommittee to examine student attendance across the state using a multiple-case study design. In this work, BEARS collaborated with four public schools and districts representing diverse student and staff populations across varied geographic contexts, particularly rural communities. Data collection integrated focus group interviews with key stakeholders and systematic document review to capture both lived experiences and contextual factors influencing attendance. Each site was treated as an individual case to support in-depth, contextually grounded analysis, while cross-case synthesis was used to identify patterns and variation across sites.

Evaluation of an Undergraduate DBER Training Program

BEARS serves as the external evaluator for a three-year undergraduate research training program in Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER). Across the project, BEARS collects formative and summative evaluation data from students and mentors, including just-in-time feedback, exit surveys, exit interviews, and mentor surveys. Evaluation activities focus on understanding participants’ experiences, documenting students’ growth in research knowledge, skills, confidence, sense of belonging, and DBER scholar identity, and identifying opportunities for program improvement.

BEARS analyzes the data and prepares annual evaluation reports with recommendations for program improvement. A final summative report will be prepared in the third year to assess the extent to which the program met its goals.