Measuring to Improve Impact
Measurement that helps nonprofit organizations create greater outcomes for their beneficiaries, and/or lower their cost per outcome achieved so they can do more with less, are the kinds of measurement...
View ArticleBest of Both Worlds: Bridging the Gap Between Monitoring and Evaluation
Measurement should first and foremost be a tool to help organizations improve their impact. So a natural question follows, Which type of measurement best accomplishes this purpose: monitoring or...
View ArticleCreating a Culture of Learning and Accountability
Despite what is now fairly widespread agreement around the necessity of creating a culture of learning and accountability if you want to use data to improve, little has been researched or written about...
View ArticleNow, What Exactly Should We Measure? - Nonprofit Performance Measurement
The most common question we get at Bridgespan when a nonprofit organization wants to talk about performance measurement is: What exactly should we measure. As in most aspects of measurement, there...
View ArticleHow Funders Can Support the Leap of Reason
Bridgespan Manager Matt Forti invites Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes in an Era of Scarcity author Mario Morino to the "Measuring to Improve" blog, where he shares his thoughts on the important...
View ArticleLive from InterAction Forum: Trends to Watch in NGO Measurement
From the 2011 InterAction Forum, three exciting trends in measurement and accountability for NGOs.
View ArticleDon’t Let Conventional Measurement Wisdom Fragment Your Impact
The sad truth, according to Matt Forti, is that conventional wisdom on performance measurement perpetuates a status quo. One that fragments impact into stages that can be evaluated, rather than...
View ArticleMobile Measurement: Lowering Costs and Engaging Beneficiaries
A considerable amount of innovation is occuring in monitoring and evaluation in developing countries. Here Bridgespan's Matt Forti shares examples of nonprofit organizations employing mobile technology...
View ArticleCould Poor Economics Unleash a Quality Revolution?
Bridgespan's Matt Forti discusses the book Poor Economics and its implications for measurement and evaluation in nonprofit organizations.
View ArticleMaking Money: A Bonus of Measuring to Improve Performance
Measurement, first and foremost, should be a tool for continuous improvement in nonprofit organizations. But there is no denying that measurement can also attract money, so it’s worth exploring the...
View ArticleMeasuring Leadership Development
Matt Forti shares some important take-aways from an assessment Bridgespan conducted of the nation’s largest philanthropic leadership program—Neighborhood Builders®, operated by Bank of America.
View ArticleDonors Want More Information on Impact
Guest blogger Greg Ulrich, director at Hope Consulting and lead researcher for the recently released “Money for Good II” writes about the gap in impact and effectiveness information for donors and what...
View ArticleRefreshing Your Nonprofit Board Dashboard
With 2012 upon us and many New Year’s resolutions already broken, Matt Forti suggests one you can easily keep: a refreshed dashboard for your nonprofit's board!
View ArticleEnsuring That “Scaling What Works” Actually Works
"We know what works, and if we could just steer funds to those nonprofit organizations with superior results, society would be much better off." Sound familiar? But in order for "scaling what works" to...
View ArticleWhat “The Wire” Has to Teach Us about Nonprofit Performance Measurement
HBO's "The Wire" has a lot to tell us about how and why nonprofit performance measurement so often—and paradoxically—makes social problems worse instead of helping us solve them.
View ArticleSeven Deadly Sins of Impact Evaluation
Impact evaluations—typically, third-party studies that seek to prove a program model's effectiveness—seem to be all the rage in social sector circles these days. Maybe in part that’s because the...
View ArticlePop Quiz: How Can Measurement Improve Student Learning?
This week, Matt Forti is excited to welcome Lija McHugh, a manager in Bridgespan's education practice. In this guest post, Lija paints a powerful picture as to why the education field needs to move...
View ArticleWorth a Look: PerformWell Performance Management Resource
A new online resource, Performwell, can help human service organizations answer some of the big questions in performance management.
View ArticleMaking Measurement More Than an Add-on
In this guest post on the "Measuring to Improve" blog, Bridgespan Manager Jacob Allen discusses the concept of 'embedded measurement,' an intentionally integrateive approach to measurement for...
View ArticleYou May Be Looking for the Wrong Measurement Director - Matthew Forti
Nonprofits on the journey to using measurement as a continuous improvement tool will eventually need to decide whether to create a full-time position to lead their performance measurement function. But...
View ArticleHow FIRST Refined Its Theory of Change to Improve Measurement
FIRST Evaluations Manager Nancy Boyer shares how her nonprofit organization approached refinining its theory of change, logic model, and measurement and evaluation plan—and the advice she'd give to the...
View ArticleSix Pitfalls To Avoid in Developing Your Theory of Change
A nonprofit's theory of change should answer six big questions, according to Manager Matt Forti.
View ArticleFour Ways Donors Support Their Grantees with Performance Measurement
This week, Matt Forti is excited to welcome Alison Powell, a manager in Bridgespan’s Advancing Philanthropy practice. In this guest post, Alison shares four ways results-oriented donors can support...
View ArticleMeasuring Advocacy - Yes We Can!
The very nature of advocacy work, particularly the dynamic environment in which it takes place, makes it the perfect candidate for measurement ‘along the way’ that enables rapid course correction and...
View ArticleHow Would Your Constituents Measure?
Matt Forti suggests that you ask constituents how they'd measure their own success to help improve the impact of your organization.
View ArticleActionable Measurement at the Gates Foundation
Matt Forti sat down with Jodi Nelson, the head of measurement and evaluation at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to learn about how the organization structures its M&E function, works with...
View ArticleOn Sports and Performance Assessment
In this guest post, Kevin Rafter of The James Irvine Foundation discusses the challenge of assessing performance in philanthropy, and shares how Irvine has tackled this challenge in a pragmatic,...
View ArticleCommunicating Impact: If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It!
Nonprofits can use tried-and-true mechanisms from the private sector to better communicate their impact to donors.
View ArticleFive Ways to Avoid the Data System Trap
Matt Forti shares five strategies for how nonprofits can assess readiness and lay the groundwork for a successful data system.
View ArticleMeasuring to Scale What Works at the YMCA
Armed with robust shared measurement systems, national nonprofit networks are well positioned to scale promising and proven programs.
View ArticleSocial Sector Measurement: Down but Not Out
Recently released studies confirm that few nonprofits possess the capacity to measure for continuous improvement, but new initiatives launched in 2012 provide some hope.
View ArticleWhat Obama’s Campaign Can Teach Nonprofits about Measurement
Five measurement practices that Obama’s campaign and high-performing nonprofits have in common.
View ArticleHow Leading Philanthropists Fail Well
Five insights from results-oriented philanthropists on how to reap the benefits of failure.
View ArticleTen Years of Performance Measurement
Five successes to celebrate, and five areas where we need to see more progress.
View ArticleMeasuring to Improve vs. Improving Measurement
From Skoll World Forum 2013: Will new measurement tools such as “big data” be a big distraction or a big opportunity?
View ArticleBeyond Input—What Happens When Nonprofits Really Engage The People They Serve?
Nearly all nonprofits collect input and other kinds of data from those they serve. But some leading nonprofits are engaging clients or beneficiaries or residents--their constituents--in order to have...
View ArticleImpact, Not Overhead, Is What Counts
A look at barriers global NGOs face in reporting the right measures of effectiveness—and how funders and grantees can begin to overcome them.
View ArticleFive Ways Funders Can Replicate What Works
A look at how funders can support effective implementation of evidence-based programs.
View ArticleMaking Measurement Work in Large, Complex Organizations
Four tips on measuring impact for NGOs that have multiple programs across many sites or continents.
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