Be the Variable For Change

At Independent Variable, we believe that data is one of many tools that can be used to change the world. However, it is important to remember that data alone can’t solve the complex social challenges we face as a society.

While we place a focus on building technology solutions to help organizations better leverage their data, our main priority is helping our partners use that technology to drive the outcomes they wish to see. If you want to learn more about our collaborative approach to software development, visit our Technology page.

With clients ranging from large government agencies to small nonprofit startups, the Independent Variable team offers trainings to organizations of any size and scope to help ensure they are delivering the most effective, impactful services to those they aim to serve. We offer team trainings on a variety of topics, including: 

• Human-Centered Design Thinking
• Data-Informed Performance Management
• Social Impact & Innovation
• The American Juvenile Justice System
• Content-Specific Best Practices

While training and technology support may be useful to clients as they aim to generate new ideas and insights, Independent Variable believes that it is in the implementation phase where these new ideas and insights will live or die. As such, Independent Variable staff continues to develop and curate the Practitioner’s Innovation Toolkit, a user-friendly collection of simple, best-practice tools for successful innovation. 

The toolkit is offered to all Independent Variable clients, with additional trainings available on how to utilize the tools included to help pick the best ideas, test assumptions, and measure what works.

Need a structured way to keep track of your new innovation initiatives? Our Innovation Accounting Tool offers a fillable PDF to help benchmark your progress as you strive to reach your target goals. Click below to download our PDF!

Download Our Innovation Accounting Tool

Independent Variable strives to be a thought partner with clients. This partnership may take many forms, from consulting with partners on distinctive organizational strategy and policy efforts, to the drafting of white papers, policy reports, public presentations, and grant applications. With extensive experience in program and policy management, as well as drafting and designing a wide variety of critical organizational documents, we are here to help.

Interested in how a government agency may use data and design principles to imagine a fairer justice system? To see some of our ideas in action, read the executive summary of a white paper we co-authored with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office entitled: “Overlooked or Overscrutinized? A Case Study of Girls’ Justice in Philadelphia and Implications for the Design of a Fairer System.” 

Download a Copy of Our Report