NONPROFIT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT WORKBOOK

Transcription

1 NONPROFIT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT WORKBOOK STRATEGY MAXIMIZE IMPACT PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

2 STRATEGY OUR IMPACT STRATEGY IMPACT STRATEGY Our Current Approach Describe what is presently defined or agreed-upon by the organization, not what you believe is or should be the case. WHAT S IN AN IMPACT STRATEGY? 1. TARGET Whom do we serve which individuals, families, groups, communities, etc.? What information do we use to identify that someone is a good fit? High quality impact strategies answer eight key questions: 1 Target Whom are we serving specifically? 2. SUCCESS How do we want the world to change for that target group? 8 Roll-out What are the implementation milestones and tactics? 2 Success How do we want the world to change for that target group? 3. VISION Within this vision, what do we hold ourselves accountable for? 4. FOCUS What program components are required for change? 7 Resources What capabilities and funds do we need to make this a reality? IMPACT STRATEGY 3 Accountability Within this vision, what will we hold ourselves accountable for? 5. ASSUMPTIONS What is out of our control but necessary for ultimate success? 6. MEASUREMENT How does measurement help us succeed? 6 Measurement How do we want measurement to help us succeed? 4 Focus What program components are required for change? 7. RESOURCES What capabilities and funds do we have to make this a reality? 5 Assumptions What is out of our control but necessary for ultimate success? 8. ROLL-OUT What are our implementation milestones and tactics? 1 2

3 STRATEGY STRATEGY 1. WHOM DO WE SERVE? 4. WHAT PROGRAMS/ELEMENTS ARE REQUIRED FOR CHANGE? Identify the crucial characteristics of the people, communities, or other groups you desire to serve by filling as many of the following prompts as relevant, including additional criteria not listed: We serve people/groups who: You can conduct this exercise across programs (i.e. how all of the programs you provide work together to achieve success) and for each program (i.e. the elements or components that contribute to that program s success). Resources/Skills Activities Timing 1. Age: 2. Gender and/or civil status: 3. Education status/level: 4. Housing status: 5. Income level: 6. Abilities or Disabilities: 7. Specific needs: 8. Location: 9. Other: 10. Other: 11. Other: Element 1 Element 2 Element 3 Element 4 2 & 3. HOW DO WE DEFINE SUCCESS? After listing all the outcomes that will indicate success, circle the outcomes for which your organization will hold itself accountable. Near-Term Outcomes Long-Term Outcomes Ultimate Success 5. WHAT IS OUT OF OUR CONTROL BUT NECESSARY FOR SUCCESS? For each outcome you don t expect to achieve directly, identify what else needs to happen, how you expect that to occur (e.g. who does it, how they do it, what needs to be in place), and what would happen to your ultimate success if that process or activity fails. Assumption How It Happens If It Fails 3 4

4 STRATEGY STRATEGY OUR IMPACT STRATEGY GOING FORWARD PLAN OF ACTION Looking Ahead Describe any changes you think need to happen in each of the following areas and/or steps you will pursue to make these improvements. What are the key ideas, experiences, best practices, or insights that are most relevant for you and your organization? 1. TARGET Whom do we serve which individuals, families, groups, communities, etc.? What information do we use to identify that someone is a good fit? 2. SUCCESS How do we want the world to change for that target group? 3. VISION Within this vision, what will we hold ourselves accountable for? What have you learned about high-quality impact strategies that is particularly challenging for your organization? What questions do you have about how to improve your impact strategy? 4. FOCUS What program components are required for change? 5. ASSUMPTIONS What is out of our control but necessary for ultimate success? 6. MEASUREMENT How do we want measurement to help us succeed? What are your next steps as a leader? What are your next steps as an organization? 7. RESOURCES What capabilities and funds do we need to make this a reality? 8. ROLL-OUT What are our implementation milestones and tactics? 5 6

5 MEASUREMENT MEASUREMENT & DATA SYSTEMS WHY INVESTING IN MEASUREMENT IS A GROWING PRIORITY Make a difference... really BUT THE CHALLENGES ARE REAL Nonprofit organizations routinely report facing a number of significant measurement challenges. Staff Time Insufficient Funds Staff Expertise Leadership Support Finding External Evaluators Staff Buy-In Increase Funding 15% 15% 12% Funders Asking for Wrong Reports 12% Maximize Use of Resources 39% 61% 23% 29% 32% 32% Scale Smart 71% 22% What are the primary challenges your organization faces? What are your options for overcoming these (in addition to funding)? 43% 27% Inspire others... in the right way Significant Minor High Comprehensive Low DETERMINE YOUR MEASUREMENT TRAJECTORY Based on your measurement objectives and your organization s and programs stage of development, measurement strategies will evolve over time, ideally become both more comprehensive and more rigorous. Begin identifying the development of your measurement strategy over time on the chart below by: Ideal for: Organizations still developing their program model Benefits: Rapid, directional results; enables learning throughout the organization Costs: Robust data system (and data entry); full leadership commitment and staff buy-in Low DESIGN AN EFFECTIVE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM CLARIFY END USERS IDENTIFY METRICS PLAN COLLECTION DETERMINE TIMELINE 1. Who will be the primary end users of the data? 2. For each end user, what decisions or actions do you want data to inform? 3. For each objective, what is the minimum threshold for data and rigor? Outcomes Indicators Metrics Sources Timing 1. Determine the minimum set of collection activities and tools to collect these metrics. 2. Identify the appropriate sample for each activity & tool. 3. Develop and test the collection tools (e.g. surveys, tests, interview or focus group guides, etc.). 4. Develop analysis and reporting tools/templates. 1. What phases do you need? 2. When do you need to complete each phase? 3. What resources and steps are required for each phase? Measure A Lot Simply Measure Almost Nothing Ideal for:???? Benefits: Limited Costs: Minimal (e.g. simple satisfaction surveys and/or success stories) 1. Plotting (and describing) where you are today 2. Plotting where you want to be in 1, 3, and 5 years from now Rigor Measure Everything Rigorously Ideal for: High-performing orgs. with well-developed programs Benefits: Conclusive proof of impact and its drivers; full range of data to drive ongoing performance Costs: Leadership commitment & staff buy-in; robust data system; significant expertise & resources for evaluation (often external) Measure A Few Things Well Ideal for: Previously defined, proven programs seeking to demonstrate impact in new settings Benefits: Highly targeted data collection at most important issues streamlines burden & focuses evaluation Costs: Significant expertise & resources for evaluation High 7 8 9

6 MEASUREMENT MEASUREMENT BE CLEAR ABOUT WHY YOU MEASURE INVEST IN A DATA SYSTEM Before deciding what or how rigorously to measure, it s crucial to be clear about what you re trying to accomplish and how you need to prioritize your measurement efforts. Who We Measure For What They Need and Why How Certain We Need to Be Too many organizations invest time and resources to develop surveys and collect information, but fail to leverage that data because they don t have the tools to manage, analyze, and report their insights. While technology is never a solution in itself, software tools can help organizations turn data into improved performance. Ask yourself the following questions when considering your data system needs. Can we easily add elements, reports, and processes as we go without new programming? FLEXIBLE Does it provide real-time updates on our progress in meeting both implementation and outcome goals? MULTI-USER TIMELY DETAILED Can different users (including participants) access what they need to know how they re doing and what they can do better? Can we track activities, progress, and outcomes for individual participants? IDENTIFY SPECIFICALLY WHAT YOU WILL MEASURE Though identifying everything you will measure involves much more than filling in a simple table, it is helpful to start with your strategic outcomes (both long- and near-term) and program outputs, activities, and inputs. MEASUREMENT RESOURCES Here are a few resources to help you identify what to measure and how to manage it. Outcomes, Outputs, Activities, & Inputs Indicators of Success Source of Information Timing of Data Collection Performance Indicators Data Systems Perform Well SPDAT (housing, etc.) GIIRS/IRIS (social enterprise) SocialSolutions (ETO) Salesforce.com ClientTrack CTK 9 10

7 MEASUREMENT PLAN OF ACTION - MEASUREMENT & DATA SYSTEMS What are the key ideas, experiences, best practices, or insights that are most relevant for you and your organization? PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT EMBRACE EXPERIMENTATION HYPOTHESIZE 1 EXPERIMENTATION 4 2 What have you learned about measurement that is particularly challenging for your organization? What questions do you have about how to improve your approach to measurement? IMPROVE 3 SUCCEED OR FAIL CREATE A PERFORMANCE CULTURE What are your next steps as a leader? What are your next steps as an organization? LEADERSHIP ALIGNED ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITMENT Recognize and reward Be familiar with the measurement design, tradeoffs, and data improvements and innovation small and large Model data-driven decision-making Be open about failures and how you respond STAFF OWNERSHIP Ensure staff experience clear, direct benefits from strategic clarity and measurement data Empower staff to review and improve strategy and program refinement Encourage bottom-up problem-solving EMBEDDED MEASUREMENT Make data collection and analysis part of the regular program delivery process, not an extra effort Build capacity for understanding and using data in every-day work 11 12

8 PERFORMANCE PLAN OF ACTION - PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT NOTES What are the key ideas, experiences, best practices, or insights that are most relevant for you and your organization? What have you learned about performance improvement that is particularly challenging for your organization? What questions do you have about how to improve your approach to performance improvement? What are your next steps as a leader? What are your next steps as an organization? 13 14

9 CICERO GROUP: SOCIAL IMPACT From Theory to Change Strategy & Program Design Monitoring & Evaluation Performance Management Marketing & Fundraising Analytics