Research Operations & Strategic Facilitation

Making sense of
complex problems.

The Curiosity Collective is a strategic inquiry, research operations, and facilitation consultancy. We partner with federal agencies, prime contractors, nonprofits, and foundations to navigate complexity — designing the research systems, stakeholder processes, and facilitated conversations that turn ambiguous challenges into clear, defensible decisions.

Book a free call See how it works
"
◎

"We're drowning in information"
but can't turn it into clear direction

≋

"We need a research process"
not just more research

→

"Every meeting ends the same way"
lots of talk, no clear next step

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The LISTEN Framework

How we
work together

We start with the problem, not the deliverable. Every engagement is built around your actual challenge — not a template. The LISTEN framework guides how we research, facilitate, and deliver work that leads to real decisions.

L

Locate the Moment

Every engagement begins by grounding the work in the real challenge. Before asking questions, we identify the decision, program need, or policy question that prompted this work — and who needs what by when.

Discovery
I

Identify the Voices

In government and mission-driven work, the people experiencing a program or policy are rarely in the room. Intentional listening starts with intentional inclusion — not just representation.

Stakeholders
S

Surface the Patterns

Rather than isolated quotes, we identify recurring themes, unmet needs, and service gaps across stakeholder groups and data sources — turning individual stories into meaningful insight.

Analysis
T

Tell the Human Story

Data alone rarely changes policy or program direction. We pair evidence with the human experiences behind it — helping agency leads, funders, and program staff understand what the findings mean for the people they serve.

Storytelling
E

Explain the Meaning

We translate insights into clear implications for program design, funding strategy, and organizational decisions — moving beyond what happened to explain why it matters.

Strategy
N

Nudge Toward Action

Research creates value only when it's used. We close every engagement with clear, prioritized next steps and a plan for accountability — so findings don't sit in a folder.

Outcomes

Proprietary Methodology

The LISTEN Framework

A six-step research and facilitation methodology designed for government agencies, prime contractors, nonprofits, and foundations. Every step connects insight to the decisions that matter — so findings don't sit in folders, they drive real change.

Download the Framework → One-page PDF · Free
Jasmine C Rodgers — The Curiosity Collective

About

The person
behind the questions

I'm Jaz — a qualitative researcher, research operations strategist, and facilitator with experience embedded inside federal agencies, large nonprofits, and government contractors. My work has always been about one thing: turning complexity into clarity that people can actually use.

I've spent my career at the intersection of inquiry and action — building research functions at the Project Management Institute, leading human-centered design research for CMS through Noblis, and supporting user research and cross-functional facilitation for SSA through Northrop Grumman. That experience taught me how federal work actually moves: through stakeholder alignment, plain-language communication, and systems that persist beyond the engagement.

Launching The Curiosity Collective is the full-circle moment — bringing that embedded experience directly to the agencies, primes, nonprofits, and foundations that need a research and facilitation partner who already speaks the language.

"Research helps me understand people. Strategy and planning help me build systems that serve them. And collaboration lets me do it alongside others who care just as much."

If you're here, we probably share that instinct — the one that says the right information, in the right hands, at the right time, changes everything.

— Jasmine C. Rodgers

  • Qualitative researcher & research ops strategist
  • Federal & nonprofit experience
  • Dual master's degrees
  • Woman-Owned Small Business · Baltimore, MD

Services

How we work
together

Every engagement is scoped to your specific context — because complex problems don't come in standard packages. Reach out to start a conversation.

Stakeholder Engagement & Strategic Facilitation

Some of the hardest work in agencies and mission-driven organizations happens between people — across programs, departments, and community stakeholders. I design and lead the processes that help diverse stakeholders align, make decisions, and move forward together — from single sessions to multi-week engagements.

Scoped per engagement

Workshops · Working sessions · Weekly syncs · Async design work · Multi-week engagements

Right for you if Your agency or organization needs to align multiple stakeholders around a program, policy, or priority — and the process needs to be structured, documented, and defensible.
  • Community and stakeholder engagement facilitation
  • Strategic and program planning sessions
  • Cross-agency and cross-sector alignment
  • Needs assessment and priority-setting
  • Meeting documentation and decision records
Let's talk →

Research Operations Consulting

Help agencies and mission-driven organizations design their research and evaluation function — how they ask questions, collect insight, synthesize findings, and embed learning into decision-making. Research that holds up to scrutiny and actually gets used.

Scoped per engagement

Project-based · Retainer · Technical assistance

Right for you if Your organization collects data for reporting or compliance but lacks the infrastructure to turn it into usable insight — or you're building a research practice that can hold up to federal scrutiny and funder expectations.
  • Research and evaluation infrastructure design
  • Qualitative methodology & study design
  • Synthesis, sense-making & reporting
  • Staff training & capacity building
  • Compliance-ready, plain-language findings

Good research isn't just about the data. It's about building the systems, habits, and shared language that let an organization learn continuously — and act on what it learns.

Let's talk →

Organizational Learning & Strategic Advisory

Programs and agencies that learn from their own work make better decisions — and build the institutional trust that sustains them. I help organizations design the systems, habits, and conversations that turn experience into actionable knowledge: after-action reviews, lessons-learned facilitation, knowledge management design, and ongoing advisory for leaders navigating complex change.

Scoped per engagement

Ongoing retainer · Project-based · As-needed · Async available

Right for you if You're a program officer, agency lead, or nonprofit executive who wants to build a learning culture — not just generate reports — and needs a strategic partner who connects insight to institutional memory.
  • After-action reviews & lessons-learned facilitation
  • Knowledge management design & governance
  • Capacity-building workshops for program teams
  • Strategic advisory for program leads & executives
  • Written clarity briefs and decision-support summaries
Let's talk →
"We know what we're trying to do. We can't get the team aligned."
Leadership teams, cross-functional projects
"We're collecting data. We don't know what to do with it."
Research teams, program evaluators, policy shops
"We have a strategic plan. It's not actually guiding our decisions."
Nonprofits, government agencies, mission-driven orgs
"We need to make a high-stakes decision with incomplete information."
Senior leaders, project leads, policy makers

Is this for you?

Complex problems
deserve better
than guesswork.

If any of those sound familiar, you're in the right place. The Curiosity Collective works with government agencies, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations that are doing important work — and need the right process to match.

This isn't generic consulting. It's rigorous, human-centered thinking done together — so your team can move forward with real confidence, not just a report that sits on a shelf.

Government agencies Nonprofit organizations Mission-driven teams Policy & program teams Research & evaluation teams Senior leaders

For Government & Primes

Looking for a
teaming partner?

TCC is actively seeking subcontracting relationships with federal prime contractors, agencies, and mission-based organizations pursuing research, facilitation, organizational learning, or knowledge management work. We bring embedded federal experience, qualitative research depth, and the facilitation infrastructure to reduce your delivery risk.

What We Bring to the Team

Direct embedded experience at CMS and SSA. Fluency in plain language, compliance, and cross-agency stakeholder dynamics. Research ops systems that persist after the engagement ends.

Work Packages We Own

Qualitative research design, stakeholder engagement, facilitation, focus groups, organizational assessment, knowledge management, capacity-building workshops, and plain-language executive translation.

NAICS Codes

541611 · 541720 · 541990 · 611430 · 541820

Mission Work Is Our Passion

Alongside federal work, we partner with nonprofits, foundations, and community-centered organizations. Mission-driven clients aren't a secondary market — they're where this work feels most alive.

Download the Teaming One-Pager → Or reach out directly: curiositycollective.ops@gmail.com
✦

Start with a
conversation

Start with a 30-minute conversation. No pitch, no pressure — just a chance to understand your challenge together and see if we're the right fit.

Book a free call
30 minutes, free No commitment required Virtual or phone