When working with organizations, we often see leaders with good intentions make a simple mistake: taking their data at face value instead of looking deeper into the numbers. But when you take your data at face value, this can often lead to incorrect and counterproductive conclusions. Consider an organization seeking to improve the graduation [...]
Data can often be the missing link in a collective impact initiative. However, data plays a substantial role in informing the collective. It has a significant role in the initial planning and determination of focus for collective initiatives, enabling the approach to be greater than simply collaboration. An area that many collectives find challenging is [...]
David Leonhardt recently wrote an article for The New York Times, “The Quiet Movement to Make Government Fail Less Often,” about trends to make government more efficient and effective. From his long career working with government agencies and nonprofit organizations around this very issue, our president, Philip Lee had some advice on how this movement [...]
Winning the small not-for-profit category of the Impact Measurement Awards, Linkwest, the peak body for Western Australia Community, Neighbourhood and Learning Centres (WA CNLC), has used the Performance Accountability component of the Results Based Accountability (RBA) framework to improve programs in the areas of sector development, community development, social inclusion, education and adult learning. This [...]
Frank Farrow, Director of the Center for the Study of Social Policy, discusses the importance of data informed decision making. The combination of rich, detailed and comprehensive data with a larger understanding of community and program needs is data informed decision making at its best. Good decision making has its roots in data and can [...]
Project directors of several Promise Neighborhoods partners discuss how the focus on data can make or break an organization’s mission. The focus on results with the support of data can help team members to more easily understand and support the strategy put in place to achieve positive results in programs for children and families. By [...]
Dr. Michael McAfee, Director of the Promise Neighborhoods Institute of PolicyLink, talks about the strong foundation of over 40 years of learning that were utilized to create the results framework that the Promise Neighborhoods program is based upon. The collection of results and use of indicators allows the PNI programs to quantify the return on [...]
Dr. Michael McAfee, Director of the Promise Neighborhoods Institute of PolicyLink, discusses how the use of data along with a focus on results gives the work being done in communities a purpose. McAfee iterates that a focus on results can promote community collaboration by providing a goal to motivate community members with and most importantly [...]
Dr. Michael McAfee, Director of the Promise Neighborhoods Institute of PolicyLink, points out that the use of data in decision making eliminates any bias from organization decisions. McAfee associates the decisions made by collecting, analyzing, and utilizing this data in strategic decision making to the decisions made by business leaders. He emphasizes the importance of [...]
Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone, discusses how the Results-Based Accountability™ Framework allows organizations to improve their practice with time. The presence of clear results and indicators help to inform necessary change and create a clear trajectory for success. This focus on data that many organizations overlook is a crucial aspect [...]
