Services
What We Do
Mímir Research offers three core research services, each designed to address questions that data alone cannot answer. Our engagements combine methodological rigor with interpretive depth — producing findings that do not simply describe what is happening but explain why, and what to do about it.
Mixed-Methods Program Evaluation
Healthcare and human services organizations invest substantially in programs whose effects are difficult to see clearly from the inside. We conduct evaluations that go beyond outcome measurement to explain the mechanisms, conditions, and human dynamics that determine whether a program works — and for whom.
We work on
- Hospital quality improvement initiatives
- Evidence-based clinical protocol implementation
- Community health and population health programs
- Care coordination and care transition interventions
A typical evaluation engagement produces a written report with findings, interpretive analysis, and actionable recommendations, accompanied by a presentation to relevant stakeholders. Depending on scope, engagements may also include ongoing consultation as findings are acted upon.
Organizational Diagnostics
Operational metrics tell you where performance is falling short. They rarely tell you why. We use interviews, ethnographic observation, and where relevant administrative data to surface the structural and cultural dynamics that produce the patterns your dashboards reveal — and the ones they miss entirely.
We work on
- Workforce culture assessment and organizational climate
- Clinician burnout and the structural conditions that produce it
- Care coordination failures and interdepartmental friction
- The gap between formal organizational structure and how work actually gets done
Organizational diagnostic engagements typically produce a structured findings report with an interpretive account of organizational dynamics and a set of recommendations oriented toward structural change rather than individual behavior.
Implementation & Uptake Research
When evidence-based practices, new technologies, or organizational initiatives are not being adopted as intended, the reasons are almost never simple. We investigate the structural, cultural, and experiential barriers that stand between design and practice — and identify what would need to change for implementation to succeed.
We work on
- Electronic health record implementation and clinician adoption
- Evidence-based clinical protocol uptake
- Care coordination model implementation
- Organizational change initiatives that are not taking hold as expected
Implementation research engagements produce findings that explain the specific mechanisms of resistance or failure, distinguish between problems of design, communication, training, and organizational culture, and offer concrete recommendations for each.
Our Methods
How We Research
The interpretive depth Mímir Research brings to its work is grounded in a genuine mixed-methods capability — the ability to bring together quantitative and qualitative approaches in ways that produce a more complete account than either can offer alone.
Administrative Data Analysis
We work with large administrative datasets — claims data, electronic health record data, workforce and operational data — to identify patterns, anomalies, and trends that form the quantitative foundation of our research. This capability is relatively rare among qualitative and humanistic researchers, and it allows us to ground interpretive work in the empirical realities of what the numbers show.
Interviews
In-depth qualitative interviews with clinicians, administrators, patients, and frontline workers are the primary means by which we access how people experience and make sense of the structures around them. We are trained in approaches that produce genuine disclosure rather than socially acceptable answers.
Ethnographic Observation
Direct observation of clinical and organizational settings — rounds, handoffs, team meetings, intake processes — reveals dynamics that neither interviews nor administrative data can capture. We know how organizations actually function, not just how they describe themselves.
Survey Research
Where broader measurement is needed alongside qualitative depth, we design and administer surveys that are informed by prior qualitative work — producing instruments that ask the right questions because we already understand the terrain.
Process
How an Engagement Works
Scoping
We begin with a conversation about the problem your organization is facing — what you know, what you don't know, and what you need to understand in order to act. From that conversation we develop a project scope, timeline, and fee proposal.
Research Design
We design the study in close consultation with you — determining which methods are appropriate, who the research participants will be, what access is needed, and what the deliverables will look like.
Fieldwork & Analysis
We conduct the research — data gathering, interviews, observation, analysis — and keep you informed at key stages. We do not disappear for months and reappear with a report. We share emerging findings as they develop.
Findings & Recommendations
We deliver a written report and present findings to relevant stakeholders. Recommendations are specific, structurally oriented, and grounded in what the research actually shows — not generic best practices retrofitted to your situation.
If this work sounds relevant to a problem your organization is facing, we would like to hear from you.
Get in Touch