Continuous Improvement and Rapid Cycle Learning and Evaluation (CIRCLE)

Who we are

The Continuous Improvement and Rapid Cycle Learning and Evaluation (CIRCLE) team is housed within the Stanford Center on Early Childhood (SCEC). 

What we do

The CIRCLE team provides technical assistance and consultation to external partners including, but not limited to, community-based organizations, governmental agencies, and philanthropic funders. The purpose of these engagements is to help early childhood-focused initiatives understand their implementation and impact. The work we do to support partners exists on a continuum from creating an initial Theory of Impact (TOI), to being a full program evaluator. 

Our approach 

Our robust approach to learning and evaluation is based on continuous improvement. Our goal is not to say whether programs "work," but rather to identify “how,” “what,” and “for whom” the programs are working. This takes a cyclical approach and begins with a TOI to identify a program’s activities, and the immediate and more downstream impacts that are expected as a result of what happens in the program. The TOI then supports the selection of measures which enable a research design to be planned and data to be collected and analyzed. Data is then used to guide improvements to the program, and the cyclical process repeats by iterating the TOI and conducting another cycle of learning and evaluation. We use the CIRCLE Framework to guide all engagements and have found it to be very effective in driving improvements at the program and systems level.