Ten Tips for Developing Your Outcome Measurement Strategy
Outcome Measurement assists organizations in gauging the effectiveness of their programs. For CCF intermediary organizations, measuring outcomes is not only a means to gauge the effectiveness of their T&TA activities and sub-award program, it is also part of the program reporting requirements.
During the May 2004 Training Conference, a peer-to-peer learning session was held to exchange ideas about strategies and techniques intermediaries can use to measure outcomes and indicators once those metrics have been defined.
Bruce Bjork, director of programs and CCF Project Director for the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches (GMCC), began the discussion by describing the outcome measurement strategy GMCC developed before giving out any sub-awards. GMCC incorporates an organizational assessment tool developed by the Research and Evaluation Department of the Wilder Foundation into their sub-award application process. This tool yields a complete baseline profile of the eventual sub-grant winners. Bruce's description of the GMCC strategy led to a group discussion that generated the following list of recommendations and effective practices.
Ten Tips for Developing Your Outcome Measurement Strategy
- Measure what you can, and measure what you should: Consider your project's objectives to ensure that they are actually measurable. When assessing the progress of your sub-awardees, measure that which is most vital to the intended results of your program.
- Plan the evaluation and the programs together: If possible, flesh out your evaluation plan and your program design concurrently, rather than waiting to devise an outcome measurement strategy as an afterthought when your program activities have already begun
- Consult the standards: If there is no expert on your staff to competently identify measures and indicators, consult the generally accepted tools, models and standards to define your own. For example, the Foundation for Community Empowerment (FCE) makes use of the "McKinsey 7 S" framework and other tools to assess the capacity of their sub-wardees.
- Get the know-how: You may wish to acquire the expertise in measuring outcomes that your staff may lack through partnerships, not just through hiring or contracting.
- The "before" snapshot: When your strategy consists of taking "pre-test" and "post-test" measurements, the "pre-test" snapshot of your sub-awardee is known as a baseline profile. Baseline profiles help intermediaries tailor their program activities to address the technical assistance needs of sub-awardees.
- Take the baseline profile early: Capture the sub-award baseline profiles as soon as possible to ensure the most accurate measurement of the program's impacts. Many organizations concurred with GMCC's use of mandatory informational sessions wherein the application material is distributed and explained. At that time, the intermediary organization can record baseline information on prospective sub-awardees.
- Integrate the baseline profile: Integrate your means of capturing the baseline profile, such as a survey tool, within the application. This will make the "pre-test" portion of your assessment seamless to the applicant. You will already have the baseline profiles of your sub-awardees as soon as you have selected them. However, this will also yield data on the declinees, which may be either cumbersome or helpful to the intermediary.
- Flesh out the details of the baseline: Many intermediaries find it helpful to augment self-administered surveys with staff-conducted interviews, site visits, etc.
- Full Service or Self-Serve? Self-administered baseline surveys are fine for collecting quantitative data. But staff administered baseline surveys, which are more time and resource consuming, can yield more forthright, accurate and qualitative data
- The Cycle of Refinement: Assessment shapes programs; programs shape assessment, and so on. Periodically revise your sub-awardee work plans and technical assistance efforts according to the information yielded from your evaluative activities.
Need help developing an outcome measurement process for your organization? Just call Brent Swinton, NRC Training Manager at 703-752-4331.
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