measuring what matters
TRANSCRIPT
MEASURING WHAT MATTERS Miami Philanthropy Conference2013
@mayurhpatel
Getting to know each other…
Pair up: What’s your burning measurement question?
Helping nonprofits deliver greater benefits to the people they serve
Photo: By PeterPan23, via Wikimedia Commons
Source: http://www.amazon.com
Where to Start? Three Great Guides
The slides that follow draw on concepts in these books
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Gut + Data = Insight
From Lean Analytics (Croll and Yoskowitz)
Data-Informed Culture
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ONE METRIC THAT MATTERS
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TIPS – One Metric that Matters
# If you collected this metric, how many people in your organization would care
1. No one…………..5. everyone
# To what extent would tracking this help you make better decisions
1. Not at all………..5. A great deal
# If you’re not collecting it, don’t panic
GOOD METRICS are:
Comparable
Understandable
Ratio or a rate
Change your behavior*
* Most important
4 Case Studies
1. Prisons Metrics shape incentives
Occupancy rates vs Recidivism
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2. The Nature ConservancyWhat you count might hide your impactAcres under Management vs Biodiversity
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1. Prison
3. Harlem Children’s ZoneManaging the present for future impactLeading vs Lagging Indicators
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“The only benchmark of success is college graduation. That’s the only one: how many kids you get in college, how many you get out.”
Geoffrey CanadaCity Limits
4. Global GivingThe power of storytellingQualitative vs Quantiative Information
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Managing Funder Relationships
*
*
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* Funder or nonprofit
One final resource
Source: http://trasi.foundationcenter.org/
Don’t overwhelm with dozens of metrics
Do align your multiple funders
Don’t rely on “people touched”
Do be realistic about scope of influence
Don’t allow qualitative data to be dismissed
Do talk about your investment costs