ACET, Inc.

Founded in 1998, ACET is a woman- and minority-owned small business enterprise providing culturally-tailored services and solutions to a variety of state agencies, county agencies, PK-16 organizations, including institutes of higher education, and nonprofit organizations. ACET provides a wide range of services across sectors, including:

• Evaluation of programs (e.g. surveys, focus groups, interviews);
• Research designs and statistical analysis;
• Development of community needs and readiness assessments;
• Facilitation of community engagement meetings in person and virtually;
• Coordination and delivery of technical assistance to grantees on a wide range of topics;
• Preparation of reports and toolkits relevant to stakeholder needs;
• Planning and conducting meetings for large and small groups using a variety of in-person, online, and hybrid strategies for recruitment and engagement; and
• Capacity building to assist organizations and grantees to set up systems for data collection and reporting of outcomes.

ACET is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has 17 employees. ACET is structured with a team-based approach. Each project has a lead staff with supporting staff who complete the work. Since we’re a small business, we’re flexible, responsive, and agile, able to respond to the State’s needs if something surfaces or a change needs to happen. 

We ground our work in 6 values: (1) cultural engagement where we center our work on the cultural knowledge, values, and experiences of those we work with; (2) dedication where we care deeply for each other and are committed to identifying next steps and finding solutions; (3) Listening where we listen to understand different perspectives, experiences, and needs to strengthen relationships; (4) Collaboration where we cultivate a safe envir­­­onment to authentically engage in ways that celebrate and leverage strengths as well as embrace differences; (5) Responsiveness where we navigate our work with grace and care, pivoting based on what we learn; and (6) Sustainability where we develop systems to support long-term, sustainable change that creates lasting impact.

ACET has been awarded dozens of single- and multi-year contracts ranging from about $25,000 to over a million. We have a diversified portfolio, including state, county, and tribal government contracts, as well as foundation and nonprofit clients. Our team has led many initiatives to help bridge connections with a variety of underserved and hard-to-reach populations. We have experience in working with American Indian, Black, Latino/a, the Southeast Asian community and also immigrant and refugee communities in addition to working with youth, those who experience poverty, are incarcerated, have mobility challenges, experience unstable housing, the LGBTQ+ community, those struggling with substance abuse, and those who are part of the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard-of-Hearing community.

Our staff have strong theoretical and practical knowledge and skills, to support the successful design and implementation of projects and deliverables. On occasion, we find community and content expertise expands our team’s potential to deliver quality services. ACET has a history of partnering with subject-matter experts and community leaders as part of our model in providing the best quality services for our clients; however, we have a company policy that states that no more than 25% of a contract would be supplied by subcontractors. When you contract with ACET, you work with ACET team members. ACET is a company that delivers. We deliver on time, with high-quality results while utilizing and involving the expertise of stakeholders, applying evidence-based and innovative strategies, and being flexible to meet the needs of project leaders.