Brinkerhoff Evaluation Institute

What Brinkerhoff Evaluation Institute does

Brinkerhoff Evaluation Institute (BEI) is a founder-owned private consulting and certification organization specializing in training and learning impact evaluation. Founded by Dr. Robert O. Brinkerhoff, Ed.D., based in Richland, Michigan, and operating with a core team of 1-10 employees supplemented by a global network of evaluation associates, BEI is the institutional vehicle for the Success Case Method (SCM), a proprietary evaluation methodology developed originally at Western Michigan University and refined over 40+ years. The company has served 100+ leading organizations across six continents, including World Bank, Merck, Ford Motor Company, Cisco, Amazon, U.S. Postal Service, American Express, Bank of America, BP, Kaiser Permanente, Procter & Gamble, Stanford University, and INSEAD.

BEI's product portfolio centers on two proprietary methodologies delivered through four product lines. The Success Case Method Certification is a 3-week blended program teaching participants to design and conduct rigorous impact evaluations and produce decision-driving reports. The Essential Impact Evaluation (EIE) Masterclass is a streamlined sister approach for time-constrained L&D professionals, answering five stakeholder questions without complex statistics. Both certifications are delivered partly through the Promote digital learning platform, including live group sessions and self-paced assignments. Beyond certification, BEI offers expert-led evaluation consulting services from planning and design through data analysis and reporting, as well as customized capability-building programs for organizations developing internal evaluation expertise.

BEI's go-to-market is hybrid: enterprise field sales for consulting engagements and private in-house programs, community-led certification cohorts offered publicly multiple times per year, and content marketing through its website, blog, and email newsletter. Revenue streams include one-time certification fees and professional services fees for consulting and capability building. Stripe is used for payment processing with alternative methods (wire, purchase order, payment plans) available on request, plus nonprofit and student pricing tiers requiring verification. The firm is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, operates without subsidiaries or parent entities, and maintains a registered trademark on the Success Case Method.

Name

Brinkerhoff Evaluation Institute

Legal name

Brinkerhoff Evaluation Institute

Website

https://brinkerhoffevaluationinstitute.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Brinkerhoff Evaluation Institute is a founder-owned private consulting and certification firm specializing in training impact evaluation, serving Fortune 500 enterprises, governments, NGOs, and foundations globally with its proprietary Success Case Method and Essential Impact Evaluation methodologies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Learning & Development Evaluation Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Policy Evaluation & Impact Assessment Organizations (EDADADAD)

Keywords

• Training impact evaluation
• Evaluation consulting services
• Learning effectiveness assessment
• L&D capability building
• Evaluation certification programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Kalamazoo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Evaluation Certification Programs: Revenue from certifying L&D professionals through Success Case Method (SCM) Certification (3-week blended program) and Essential Impact Evaluation (EIE) Masterclass. Programs include public courses offered several times per year and private in-house organizational programs.
2. Evaluation Consulting Services: Expert-led evaluation studies conducted from start to finish for organizations seeking credibility and independence of an objective third-party. Includes full partnership from planning and design through data analysis and reporting.
3. Evaluation Training and Capability Building: Customized evaluation capability development for individuals and organizations, including consultation for evaluation-ready L&D initiatives and feedback on evaluation projects, tools, and methods.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Brinkerhoff Evaluation Institute provides impact evaluation consulting services and certification programs centered on two proprietary methodologies: the Success Case Method (SCM) and the Essential Impact Evaluation (EIE). The firm helps organizations measure the business value of their learning and development investments by conducting expert-led evaluation studies, certifying L&D professionals through blended training programs, and building internal evaluation capability through in-house engagements.

Product overview

Brinkerhoff Evaluation Institute offers a portfolio of evaluation consulting services and certification programs centered on two proprietary methodologies: the Success Case Method (SCM) and the Essential Impact Evaluation (EIE). The product suite includes SCM Certification (a 3-week blended program for deep methodology training) and EIE Masterclass (a streamlined approach for time-constrained L&D professionals), complemented by evaluation consulting services where BEI experts conduct studies, and capability building programs for organizations wanting to develop internal evaluation skills.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Success Case Method (SCM) Certification A 3-week blended certification program that teaches participants to design and conduct rigorous impact evaluations using the Success Case Method, conduct success case interviews, and deliver reports that drive strategic decisions. Targeted at L&D professionals handling complex, high-stakes evaluation projects.
• Essential Impact Evaluation (EIE) Masterclass A streamlined, fast-track masterclass that equips L&D professionals with practical tools to measure training impact and demonstrate value by answering five key stakeholder questions without complex statistics. Targeted at busy L&D professionals who need credible evidence quickly.
• Evaluation Consulting Services Expert-led impact evaluation studies conducted from start to finish by BEI's team, or collaboration at any stage of the evaluation process from planning and design to data analysis and reporting. Targeted at organizations seeking credible, third-party evaluation of their L&D investments.
• Evaluation Training and Capability Building Customized evaluation capability development for individuals and organizations, ranging from support for those new to evaluation to developing appropriate evaluation frameworks or expanding evaluation expertise. Targeted at organizations seeking to build internal evaluation skills.

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kirkpatrick Partners: Direct competitor in training/learning impact evaluation; offers the Kirkpatrick Model certification and consulting, which is the most widely adopted alternative to BEI's Success Case Method in the L&D evaluation market.
• ROI Institute: Jack Phillips's ROI Methodology organization offering certification, training, and consulting on demonstrating training ROI — the closest methodology-level competitor to SCM in the enterprise L&D evaluation space.

Broad incumbents

• ATD (Association for Talent Development): The largest professional membership body for the talent development industry, offering certifications (CPLP), publications, and conferences that overlap with BEI's L&D professional audience and influence evaluation practice standards.
• Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): Global leadership development research and education organization that conducts rigorous program evaluation and publishes evidence on leadership development impact — a broader institutional incumbent in the same evaluation-of-training space as BEI.
• Development Dimensions International (DDI): Large leadership and talent development consultancy with evaluation, assessment, and certification offerings that overlap with BEI's enterprise L&D evaluation and leadership development assessment work.
• BTS: Global consulting and experiential learning firm offering customized leadership and sales capability programs with embedded impact measurement — overlapping with BEI's enterprise evaluation and capability-building services.
• GP Strategies: Large corporate training and performance improvement provider whose learning effectiveness and measurement practice competes for the same enterprise L&D evaluation budget as BEI's consulting services.
• Wilson Learning: Global training and talent development company offering learning programs with evaluation components, targeting enterprise L&D buyers similar to BEI's Fortune 500 client base.
• Deloitte Human Capital (Bersin): Global management consulting human capital practice with industry-leading L&D research (Bersin) and large-scale learning measurement capabilities — a much broader incumbent with overlapping enterprise evaluation mandates.

Others

• i4cp (Institute for Corporate Productivity): Research and advisory firm focused on next-practice HR and L&D effectiveness, whose member research outputs intersect with BEI's evaluation methodology positioning and reach the same L&D executive audience.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brinkerhoff-evaluation-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Brinkerhoff Evaluation Institute