Founded in 1986, DRA is a small consulting firm specializing in direct service and training. Our firm’s driving goals have been and remain designing and applying need-driven evaluations of operations and programs as well as the building of our clients’ internal capacities. Committed to accurate assessment of need and tailored application of technique, DRA operates with a firm commitment to social justice; a commitment to improving the well-being of people in need, with the understanding that our clients are one important means for achieving positive change.

 

AS OF JUNE 1, 2009 DRA WILL UNDERGO IMPORTANT

CHANGES IN ITS PRACTICE.

First, and most importantly, DRA will continue to provide the full range of services its clients have come to expect and rely upon. DRA continues to maintain an association with expert and highly regarded consultants throughout California.

What will change is DRA’s structure. Dennis Rose, DRA’s principal, has handed off individual contracts to his two long-time employees, so that they can begin their own consulting practices. As of June 1, DRA will resolve to a sole practitioner – Dennis – with past DRA employees and external consultants being available on an as-needed basis.

Another notable change will be more emphasis on professional ethics consulting, teaching and education. As events over the last two years have proved, the need for professional values clarification and problem-solving has touched every aspect of our daily lives. DRA’s focus on professional ethics will demonstrate the profound relationship between ethical action and effective performance. This increased focus will also assist clients in distinguishing between ethical issues, and simple operational issues.

The hope is that professional ethics can be more effectively integrated into DRA’s information development consults, with the net effect of clients gaining important new problem-solving capacities. This increased emphasis will translate to a more focused use of hands-on demonstrations, DRA’s field-tested curriculum, and/or simply the kinds of conversations that take place as program teams work to achieve their objectives.

Finally, we will continue to express our interest in large-scale evaluations and information development efforts. However, our primary interest will be in promoting values clarification with individual organizations, as well as assisting other information development firms to recognize and incorporate professional ethics consulting into their practices.

Within this season of change, DRA’s own professional values will continue as they have over the last 22 years: tailored, need-driven consulting, delivered with the highest integrity. We look forward to the challenges ahead and the opportunity to continue assisting our clients in making informed, consistent and empirically-based decisions.