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Who's Blogging  |
Name: Social Dynamics LLC
Location: Rockville
Funding: The company is self-funded and supported by contract revenue.
Big idea: Social Dynamics helps organizations measure the efficacy of programs and ensure that they are being implemented according to design. "Our mission is to help organizations more effectively understand what their programs are doing," said Douglas Klayman, president. "We look at ourselves as the link between government programming and accountability." The company works with organizations in education, health, labor and human services, performing social science research and using software to measure the success of a program and monitor its implementation. The company also trains its customers to use software to continue to monitor the progress of a program after the contract is over. Klayman said that longer-term training is provided because otherwise "we've noticed that we come in for a year or two with a client and when we leave they have no capacity to do the work."
Where the idea was hatched: Klayman said he came up with the idea for the company while working as a research director for another organization. "I wanted to have a greater focus on technology integration with the social sciences," Klayman said. "An evaluation can take months or years to collect data. You need to use IT to make it less expensive and an expedient process."
Customers: Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, Health Management Consultants, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, the Alliance for Justice, and the U.S. departments of Education and Health and Human Services.
Price: The company's contracts average about $145,000, Klayman said.
Founded: 2003
Who's in charge: Klayman.
Employees: Five full-time and nine under contract.
Web site: http:/
Partners: Health Management Consultants
What the name means: "I wanted something that's dynamic, because dynamic means something that's able to change," Klayman said. "We do research on the social aspects of programs. . . . We're not doing research on inanimate objects. People change."
Where will you be in five years?: "We're looking to get more heavily into the federal arena," Klayman said. "We're gearing up to get on some of the GSA schedules. I have no interest in being a huge organization, but I would like to be a mid-sized organization with 25 or 30 employees."
-- Andrea Caumont
