evaluation

Start the conversation early: helpful questions to evaluate the success of the social enterprise journey

Bryn Sadownik — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 18:13:06 +0000

Starting a social enterprise in a non-profit often starts with a simple idea – renting out space, starting a gift store, offering a current service to a new (paying) market, providing supportive employment opportunities to clients.

Think more about the formula for success, not just indicators

Bryn Sadownik — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 20:28:52 +0000

The Known Unknowns and Unknown Unknowns of Measuring Performance and Impact

Bryn Sadownik — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 19:34:42 +0000

"There are known knowns; there are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns; that is to say, there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns - there are things we do not know we don't know."

-Former US of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld

Great tools for planning and demonstrating your value

Bryn Sadownik — Wed, 29 May 2013 17:14:02 +0000

Are you about to engage in strategic or business planning in your organization? Planning offers a great point to think about what has and hasn’t worked in the past, how you create value (for community, within your business and organization), how you can create even more value, and ways to measure your success moving forward. Demonstrating Value can complement planning activities in a number of ways.

Mind-Mapping Evaluation Terminology

Sarah Cruickshank — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Following up from her webinar “You Say Impacts, I Say Outcomes”, Kylie Hutchinson (Community Solutions Planning and Evaluation) shared an Evaluation Terminology Mind-Map in a recent Community Solutions newsletter.

Navigating the vast ocean of evaluation terminology

Sarah Cruickshank — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 07:00:00 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to participate in an insightful webinar facilitated by Kylie Hutchinson at Community Solutions Planning & Evaluation. This webinar, entitled “You Say Impacts, I Say Outcomes” was all about clarifying the confusion in evaluation terminology.

What is Program Sustainability and How Can You Achieve It?

Sarah Cruickshank — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Webinar presented by Community Solutions Planning & Evaluation (Facilitator: Kylie Hutchinson)
January 31st and February 7th, 2012 (10:00 - 11:30 AM)

Is measuring impact possible?

Sarah Cruickshank — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:01:00 +0000

When you hear the word “impact”, what comes to mind? While your first thoughts may include that kickboxing class you just joined, it is it is also true that the term “impact” is often used loosely to encompass any type of reporting about the social or environmental mission of an organization. In the world of evaluation, this word has a much ‘tighter’ meaning: Impact is the tracking of long-term outcomes, controlling for external influences, or using randomized control trials to prove that the outcomes are attributable to a particular organization’s efforts.