Mapping Progress, with a Purpose
Measuring our progress in achieving our goals and fulfilling our mission is more important than ever. In a world of economic volatility, government constraint and increasing transparency, funders and their grantees need more effective ways to demonstrate their individual and collective impact to a broadening array of interested stakeholders. Blair shared the steps the Ontario Trillium Foundation took to re-invent how they measure the impact of their granting, what they measure, and why. Through a focus on balancing accountability with an action learning agenda, using mixed measurement methods, increasing engagement with grantees, staff and volunteers, and experimentation, you, too, can improve how you map your progress towards achieving your organization’s mission.
(Please note: we had a technical problem in the last 4 minutes of Blair’s presentation, which affected the audio. You can still hear his presentation clearly (thanks for a great presentation voice, Blair!), but you will detect a difference in the quality. Thanks for understanding!)
Five Good Ideas
- Map to the why: measuring progress is mission critical.
- From accountability to action learning: thinking “if…, then….”
- Ask the right questions.
- Make what you measure work for you.
- In our world of networks, engage.
Five Good Resources
- Jim Collins, “Good to Great for the Social Sectors”
- Innovation Network: “Point K Learning Center”