From Design to Deliverable: Sharing USAS’ Blueprint for High-Impact Focus Groups

Join the research specialists from the University Survey and Assessment Services (USAS), an internal service organization at the University of Minnesota office for a practical and engaging discussion on maximizing the impact of your qualitative projects.

In this session, Femi Ogunleye and Mark Miazga will share the USAS Focus Group Blueprint—a reliable methodology for designing, executing, and analyzing high-impact focus groups. Grounded in years of experience supporting university and community clients, this approach reflects the American Evaluation Association’s core competencies in methodology and context-responsive planning and management. Moving beyond basic moderation, we will dive into the strategies our team uses to convert raw group conversation into clear, actionable insights for clients.

What You Will Gain:

• Expert Insights: Learn the advanced techniques and best practices USAS has developed over years of managing complex focus group projects.
• Case Studies: See real-world examples of how our focus group research has driven successful outcomes for our past university and community clients.
• Actionable Takeaways: Engage in a discussion about common challenges, proven solutions, and USAS-identified best practices to elevate your own research.

• Networking Opportunity: Connect with fellow Minnesota researchers and explore potential partnership opportunities with the USAS team for future funded projects.
  

This is a key opportunity for research professionals, program evaluators, and project managers to refine their qualitative skills and discuss the future of effective focus group research.

If you need any accommodations to participate, please let us know at least one week prior to the event. Thank you.

Mark Miazga

Director, University Survey and Assessment Services

Mark has over twenty years of experience in survey research with a concentration in higher education, student experience, public health, and health and human services.  He has managed numerous large-scale data collection and analysis projects including the University of Minnesota System Pandemic Response Project, Student Experience at the Research University, Grand Challenges Research Initiative, and State of Minnesota Long-Term Care Project.  He has published and presented on numerous topics in survey research including on optimization of response rates, multi-mode data collection, and questionnaire design.  

He is currently the Director of the University of Minnesota Survey and Assessment Services (USAS) and chairs the university system’s University Survey Advisory Team (U-SAT).  He was previously with Wilder Research where he worked on projects for non-profits and government agencies including te Homelessness in Minnesota Study.  He is a former City Councilmember for the City of Falcon Heights, former board member with Northeast Youth and Family Services (NYFS), former chair of the City of Falcon Heights Environment Commission and recently published his third book on Northern Wisconsin history.  

He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Gerontology from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire and a JD from Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Femi Ogunleye

Research and Project Management Specialist, University Survey and Assessment Services

Femi is a research and evaluation professional with over 10 years of experience designing and managing mixed-methods studies in higher education. His work spans institutional research, program evaluation for grant-funded initiatives, and stakeholder engagement across complex systems. He currently serves as a Research and Project Management Specialist at the University of Minnesota’s Survey and Assessment Services (USAS), where he manages multi-modal research projects for both internal university clients and external partners. 

He specializes in qualitative methods, particularly focus group research, as a tool for gathering in-depth, contextual data. Due to his expertise and interest in this area, he serves as the lead project manager for focus group projects at USAS. In this role, he has developed and refined approaches that employ utilization-focused strategies to elevate participant voices and enhance stakeholder engagement in the research process. Examples of his recent focus group work include a system-wide study on student employment and well-being, a college-level series on recruitment and outreach, and a hands-on training workshop for early-career researchers.

He holds a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration and a bachelor’s in Business Management from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is completing a Ph.D. in Comparative and International Development Education at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities.