Blog - Viable Insights

How To Write A Consent Form People Will Actually Read & Understand

Sep 2nd, 2026

If you have a Facebook account, I imagine you vaguely remember scrolling to the bottom of a very long agreement and clicking a box when you joined back in 2008. You probably didn’t really read it – nobody did. In 2014, that came back to bite Facebook in a very public way. The company had … more »

Data Minimization: Why Collecting Less Data Is Better Evaluation & Better Ethics

Aug 24th, 2026

It’s 2025 and you’re in between jobs. Money is tight so you visit your local food bank’s website to check hours and fill out an intake form. Unbeknownst to you, a tracking pixel embedded in the page is scraping your address and what a later lawsuit would describe as your “intent to receive nutrition assistance.” It’s also tracking your financial hardship, disability status, and how urgent your need is.

Illustration of a clipboard with checked-off boxes and a pencil, representing the Viable Insights blog post 'What Happens After You Submit an IRB Application? Timeline Map + Reviewer's Expectation Checklist,' covering the IRB review timeline and reviewer expectations

What Happens After You Submit an IRB Application? Timeline Map + Reviewer’s Expectation Checklist

Jul 16th, 2026

You hit submit on your IRB application. Now what? If you’re a nonprofit staffer, community organizer, or first-time evaluator, that question can feel surprisingly hard to answer. Unlike a grant application, where you at least know the notification date, IRB (Institutional Review Board) review can feel like a black box. You send your protocol into … more »

4 Reasons Organizations Should Use Independent IRBs for Risk Management

Jun 18th, 2026

Risk management looks different depending on who you ask. For a hospital, it might mean clinical audits. For a nonprofit, it might mean financial controls. But for organizations doing community-based research or evaluation — whether that’s a needs assessment, a program evaluation with focus groups, or a survey of service recipients — one of the … more »