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Blog - Could Poor Economics Unleash a Quality Revolution? - Matt Forti. I recently read a fascinating book: Poor Economics. Like many global development aficionados, I marveled at the authors’ wizardry in carving out a pragmatic middle ground between the pro- and anti-aid camps with their simple yet rarely practiced prescription to let the data decide. I’ve also read nearly a dozen reviews of the book that aptly describe the authors’ recommendations for poverty alleviation, but was disappointed to find not one that touched on the book’s implications for measurement itself. Here is my take: Rigorous measurement can be a powerful input into decision making at all levels: The vast majority of illustrations in Poor Economics were of simple design choices that led to dramatic improvements in outcomes.

I hope this book encourages nonprofit organizations around the world to reflect on how they are using measurement to test their theories of change, innovate their programs, and improve their services. Performance Measurement. April 2008 | Venture Philanthropy Partners. To What End? The Importance of Outcomes and Performance Recently, a good friend, the new head of a k-12 private school, called for advice. Like most organizations, the school has challenges, and board members have recently asked for more information on how the school is performing. Working to establish a greater discipline and transparency in how the educational and administrative aspects of the school are managed, he wisely reached out to one of the professional associations of private schools for its template “scorecard.” The good news for my friend is that his board’s request provides the opportunity to move beyond this kind of operational reporting—standard financials and information that lets you "check the boxes"—to a system that provides more relevant information, connecting the organizational achievements with the ultimate goals for students.

Information like this helps the board and leadership make good decisions based on real data. 1. . - Mario Morino. Case Study - Our Piece of the Pie: Making the Biggest Difference in Hartford. Data is Gold. Social Impact Blog | Weber Shandwick Social Impact is a global agency team that works with nonprofits and foundations. Beth Kanter's Blog. Measurement. Dashboard Design Principles. Dashboards are a nonprofit’s best friend because they can be powerful tools in communicating your organization’s important measurement data at a glance.

If a dashboard fails to tell you what need in glance, then you’ve wasted all that data collection time. What if you married with the power of a dashboard with visual design? Maybe you are scratching your head and thinking, but I’m not a visual designer. (I’m not either) The challenge of good dashboard design is that you have squeeze a lot of information into a small amount of real estate and present a display that is easily understood. That’s not an easy task. But what if we used design thinking to make our dashboards more effective. There is a chapter that offers a few principles of good dashboard design that are useful to set up your next dashboard.

. (1) No Scrolling If you can see everything at once, it is most powerful! (2) Give Context One piece of data out of context on the screen can be meaningless. . (3) Don’t Give Too Details. Charity and non profit organisation - monitor and evaluation | KnowHow Non Profit. Information on quality standards and assessments for charities and non profit organisations.

Monitoring and evaluation in charities and non profit organisations. Guidance on how to effectively monitor and evaluate the activities of your non profit or charitable organisation. Monitoring progress and evaluating your outputs and processes is key to constantly improving the performance of your organisation. In this section you will find: Monitoring and evaluation: the basics Monitoring and evaluation enables you to check that what you are doing is achieving what you intended. Planning for monitoring and evaluation The first phase of the monitoring and evaluation cycle - planning. Monitoring and using performance indicators The second stage of the monitoring and evaluation cycle - what and how to monitor. Evaluation The third phase of the monitoring and evaluation cycle - internal and external evaluation. Using monitoring and evaluation to learn and improve The fourth phase of the monitoring and evaluation cycle - reviewing and learning.

Aims, objectives and outcomes of monitoring and evaluation Evaluating outcomes and impact. Ken's Commentary: David Hunter on Outcomes - Open Forum Participant. Our next blogger for the Open Forum on Outcomes is Dr. David Hunter. Dr. Hunter has some 30 years of experience running and consulting to human services organizations. He pioneered the use of performance management methods and developed a unique approach to helping organizations implemement Strategic Performance Management. Ken Berger and Robert Penna*: Should charities be assessed on their use of outcomes? David Hunter: I'm not sure what the question means. (Of course for some nonprofits one can expect only outputs...e.g., for a soup kitchen.

KB & RP Comments: The issue the question was meant to frame is whether nonprofits should be held accountable by both institutional and individual investors (donors with their eyes wide open) for the “return” they deliver on the monetary investments made in their work. KB & RP: What is the real state of the outcomes movement? DH: I think it is undeniable that "outcomes" have become a hot topic. “Who should pay for outcomes?” DH: Damned if I know. Best Practices in Nonprofit Impact Measurement , CNM. CharityNav’s Presentations on SlideShare. Measurement mini workshop. Measuring Outcomes and Evaluating Impact. This video, aired on DC Public Safety Television and produced by Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA) and the Office of Cable Television, provides an overview of CSOSA’ efforts to implement best practices for [...]

This webinar provides an overview of the Second Chance Act Statewide Recidivism Reduction (SRR) Grant Program. It is intended for policymakers from 13 states–Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia–that received SRR planning grants from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance in FY2013. The National Reentry Resource Center hosted this webinar for organizations responding to the Smart Supervision solicitation. Hosted by the National Transitional Jobs Network (NTJN), this webinar addresses barriers to employment for veterans and people with mental health conditions who are experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.