Module
Nine

Reflecting on the Previous Session
• What was most useful from the previous session?
• What progress have you made since the previous session?
• Any comments or questions about the previous session?

• Exploring the Value of Measuring
• Deciding What to Measure
• Using Measures to Promote Success
• Tracking Appropriate Measures
• Creating a Regional Plan for
Measuring Success

What things do you monitor or measure as part of your organization?
What are you seeking to learn from those measures?

• Know if your plan is working
• Make course corrections along the way
• Ensure accountability
• Encourage continued participation of partners
• Generate enthusiasm and public interest
• Foster buy-in with potential new partners
• Generate additional support – internal and external

Measuring for Success Means . . .
Thinking about:
• Who will make changes
• How people will do things differently
• What outcomes or impacts you expect
• Which key indicators can help determine progress

Deciding What to Measure

Measuring What We Do
(Outputs)
Versus
Measuring the Difference We Make
(Impacts – Outcomes)

Outputs
My
Organization
Does
Things
To/for
People
# Workshops Conducted
# Counseling Sessions
# Tech Asst. Sessions
# Materials Distributed
# Clients Served
# Stakeholder Groups
# Partnerships

Outcomes: Three Levels of
Measuring toward Success
Do You Know Your ABCs?
A ttitudes ,
Knowledge , and Skills
B ehavior C onditions
Short Term Long Term
Success

Using ABCs to Promote Success

Your team decides to focus on fostering small business growth by providing training on developing and managing web-based sales.
Strategy:
Web Training for
Small Business
Owners
Thriving
Small
Business
Sector

Measuring ABCs: An Example
Problem: You have been conducting the training for five years, but small business numbers are static or declining.
Discussion: What are some possible points at which the strategy failed to produce the desired condition?

Counting what we did tells part of the story:
• How many times did you offer the training?
• How many small business owners attended the training?
These traditional measures are still an important link to the overall success.

A
A
Strategy :
Offered Web
Training for Small
Business Owners
Participants scored poorly on post assessment
Course
Correction?
Measuring
A ttitudes,
Knowledge, and Skills

B
Strategy:
Offered Web
Training for Small
Business Owners
Participants did not start websites
Course
Correction?
Measuring
B ehavior

C
Strategy:
Offered Web
Training for Small
Business Owners
Participants started websites but have seen no income or job growth.
Course
Correction?
Measuring
C onditions

Outputs
Web
Training for
Small
Business
Owners
A ttitudes,
Knowledge, and Skills
Outcomes
B ehavior C onditions
Thriving
Small
Business
Sector
Number of
Trainings &
Participants
Scores on
Post
Assessment
Number of
Websites
Started
Number of
New
Websites
Generating
Income

Tracking Appropriate Measures

Key Questions in Developing a Plan
• What information do we need?
 Does it already exist? OR
 Will you need to gather it?
• Who has access to the information?
• When should we gather? How often?
• How can we gather the information?

We can’t measure everything!
Some quick guides :
• Be reasonable.
• Be thoughtful.
• Be realistic.
• Be smart.

Measuring Short Term:
A ttitudes/Knowledge/Skills
Common Methods Include:
• Pre/post survey
• Skill assessment/demonstration
• Practical application exercise
• Willingness to participate in follow-up activities
• Others?

Measuring Intermediate Term:
B ehavior Change
Common Methods Include :
• Logging behaviors
• Monitoring of completion of follow-up activities
• Follow-up surveys
• Observation
• Other ideas?

Measuring Long Term:
C ondition Change
Common Methods Include :
• Secondary data
• Surveys/ follow up with participants
• Other ideas?

Creating a Regional Plan to
Measure FOR Success

Measurement Plan Template
What you want to measure
What information you need
Who has the information
How you will get the information
How often/when you will get the information
Outputs:
Your Strategy
The Participants
Short Term :
Attitudes/Knowledg e/Skills you want to change
Intermediate:
Behavior you want to change
Long Term:
Condition you want to change

Measurement Plan Example

Using Handout Two:
Draft a Measurement Plan for the ABCs you identified in Module Eight.

Measurement Plan Feedback
• Did you identify any new strategies or steps that you would need to incorporate in your plan of work (from Module Eight)?
• What opportunities do you have in place for course corrections?
• How will this plan help your team be successful?
• What additional information might you need to guide the strategy to success?

Inputs are the people, organizations, and resources that will be contributing to the success of your initiative.
Without inputs, your regional plans cannot move forward.

How are we doing as a regional team?
It’s not just about numbers!

• Meeting evaluations
• Reflection questions
• Quarterly evaluation meetings that focus on process and impact
• Focus groups
• Interviews
• Other methods?

Your Team:
Partnership Evaluation
• What has been a peak experience in this project?
• Describe the best meeting we have had so far.
• What would help future meetings be even more successful?
• What has been a high point in our collaboration?
• How might we make it even better?

• What plans can we put in place to ensure the viability of this partnership?
• What strategies will work best with this regional collaboration?

• How many points do you have for checking and correcting your course along the way?
• Have you identified someone to take charge of each check-point?
• Is the total measurement package manageable?
• Are there points at which the plan could “fall through the cracks?”
• Do you have the right mix of resources?

Keeping Your Eyes on the Goal
Did the strategies we implemented:
• Move us closer to achieving our regional goals?
• Make effective use of our regional assets, strengths, and opportunities?
• Generate additional problems?
• Other thoughts?

What are the takeaways from this session?
• What topics did you find most helpful?
• What did you find confusing?
• What do you hope to implement as part of your regional team’s activities?
• Other items you want to mention?

Please take a few minutes to help us . . .
Measure FOR Success
. . . by completing the postassessment.