Mainspring Research Consulting | social justice research

non-profit grant writing social justice research program evaluation social program development professional non-profit services

CREATING, DEMONSTRATING, AND MEASURING YOUR AGENCY’S SOCIAL IMPACT JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT EASIER.

WHAT WE DO

Here at Mainspring Research Consulting the mission is simple: to provide comprehensive yet uncomplicated program support services to help organizations maximize their social impact. We believe that creating, measuring, and demonstrating impact should be done through meaningful activities that are easy to understand and implement.

We specialize in working with nonprofit, public, and private sector agencies to ensure that their initiatives and programs are making the most of their resources and achieving their goals. We work closely with our clients to develop tailored and evidence-based solutions that will help their organization or program reach its fullest potential and demonstrate success.

We support organizations and programs by offering the following services:

PROGRAM
DEVELOPMENT

Providing a comprehensive approach for new and existing programs that includes the development of a program mandate, logic model, and process map. Our goal is to ensure that all programs are designed with the best possible outcomes in mind.

PARTNERSHIP
ENGAGEMENT

Facilitating multi-sectoral engagement and partnership building between government, community agencies, and other stakeholders. Our team is experienced in building relationships and developing agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to ensure successful long-term collaboration and positive outcomes between partners.

EVALUATION
SUPPORT

Providing data-driven practices to measure the impact of your agency’s work. Our experienced evaluators utilize evidence-based methodologies to assess the success of your programs and projects and identify strategies to strengthen outcomes. We primarily offer process, impact, outcome, and SROI evaluations.

TECHNICAL
WRITING

Creating high-quality technical documents tailored to a wide range of audiences, from professionals to the general public, for a variety of purposes. Our experienced writers will ensure that your technical documents are accurate, concise, and effective in mobilizing knowledge.

GRANT
WRITING

Helping organizations identify and secure the funding necessary to develop and implement their projects and programs. We specialize in finding the right combination of government and community funding streams to ensure that your project's goals are met. Our experienced grant writers will work with you to develop a compelling proposal that will maximize your chances of securing funding.

ACADEMIC
RESEARCH

Developing literature reviews that bridge theoretical and practical perspectives. These research services are designed to inform practice and help organizations and individuals mobilize knowledge and make informed decisions when it comes to policy and programming.

LET'S WORK TOGETHER >

ABOUT

MEET CRYSTAL

Collaboration specialist.
Data nerd.
Great dane lover.

I’m Crystal Hincks (MA) and I am the founder and Principal Consultant at Mainspring. I have a passion for relationship building and specialize in bringing multi-sectoral stakeholders together to collaborate on initiatives that address complex social issues such as human trafficking, child protection, youth justice, and mental health and addictions.

With nearly 15 years of frontline experience in the areas of forensic mental health, community mental health and addictions, homelessness, and youth justice, I am fortunate to bring a deep understanding of policy and practice to the research and evaluation work I do on these important issues.

Keep scrolling to learn about some of the projects I have completed!

CLIENTS

CLIENTS AND PROJECTS

Major projects:

Action Coalition on Human Trafficking (ACT) Alberta. 2023.

Supporting the development of guidelines for frontline workers that provide direct support to victims of sexual and labour exploitation.

Public Safety Canada. 2022.

Co-authored a literature review on the demand side of sex trafficking and provided the federal government with recommendations for further research avenues.

International Cybercrime Research Centre (ICCRC). 2021 to 2023.

Grant funding received in partnership with the ICCRC at Simon Fraser University to develop a Blockchain database to be used by law enforcement to gather and share data on human trafficking.

Not in My City. 2018 to 2022.

Environmental scan, gap analysis and facilitation of a response model to address sexual exploitation and human trafficking supports and resources for youth in Alberta.

BC Office of Crime Reduction and Gang Outreach. 2019-2021.

Development of a response model to address the sexual exploitation and trafficking of youth in Canada with an emphasis on creating a multi-stakeholder framework that is implemented across the continuum of care.

Lethbridge Police Service. 2021.

Needs assessment and SWOT analysis to develop strategic directions. Focus on how to address increases in crime, mental health, addictions and social disorder in the city.

Calgary Police Service. 2020.

Needs assessment for the Child Abuse Unit to determine the best practices for investigative responses to child sexual exploitation and trafficking.

Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre. 2019.

Project development and implementation of the Being Trauma Aware initiative.

YWCA. 2019.

Development of the Wisdom Circle framework, a restorative-based conflict resolution model for women residing in harm reduction housing through the YWCA.

Correctional Service of Canada. 2014-2015.

Study on the mental health prevalence in federal institutions.

Office of the Correctional Investigator. 2013-2014.

A review of Deaths in Custody in Three Canadian Provinces.