Imagine that you came home from work to find your house on fire. Your neighbor walks over and tells you he saw the whole thing happen. But he didn’t pick up a fire extinguisher, contact you, or call the fire department. How would you feel? Angry? Frustrated? Disappointed? In communities all across the country, the [...]
Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is a place-based framework pioneered by John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann of the ABCD Institute at Northwestern University. It starts with a few simple truths: 1) everyone has gifts; 2) everyone has something to contribute, and 3) everyone cares about something and their passion is their motivation to act. Strong, [...]
Planning is an essential component of any successful community initiative. There are many different ways to approach the planning process, but the best plans are results-based - they use data to guide decision-making. Using data to continually measure conditions of wellbeing allows communities to determine areas of need, focus resources and strategies on making [...]
I once had the opportunity to listen-in as another agency told the story behind the baseline for a poorly performing program. Due to under-staffing, the program was unable to achieve one of the primary outcomes; an outcome that would result in participants being better off AND lead to reimbursement for some program costs. The story [...]
Have you ever had a leaking roof? No? Well...just humor us for a moment. Pretend if you have to. Whether you’ve experienced a leaking roof or not, you’ll probably agree that it is not a good idea to ignore the problem until the roof caves in. Because we aren’t tickled by the thought of living [...]
**Please note that this event has ended. If you are interested in our professional development programs visit the virtual training page or the RBA Certification classes.** You are invited to register for the Benchmarks for a Better Vermont two-and-a-half day Results-Based Accountability (RBA) Training of Trainers workshop. For four years the team at Benchmarks for [...]
There is something about September that always makes me think about new beginnings. Maybe it is because the school year starts in September, or the air starts to get crisp in the evenings, or because my birthday is in September – signaling a new year for me. Whatever the reason, September is a month that, [...]
Author discusses lessons learned and recommendations to help governments and nonprofits improve their social service programming. HARTFORD, CT (Sept 12, 2016) – Accountability in Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families is the focus of a new book by Anne McIntyre-Lahner, the agency’s director of performance management. The book, Stop Spinning Your Wheels: Using Results-Based Accountability to Steer [...]
#OBABelfast2016 A Message from Mark Friedman, author of Trying Hard Is Not Good Enough (the principal OBA/RBA text) I am very much looking forward to presenting and participating in the Outcomes and Impact Conference, taking place in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 10th & 11th October. I first visited NI in 2013 and am delighted to see [...]
