The Blog
Evaluation, research, workforce development, and nonprofit leadership — from Rojas Blakely & Associates.
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FeatureSpringfield WORKS Hosts Community Empowerment Grant Press Event & Community Conversation
June 10, 2025
We worked with Springfield Works to document the outcomes of their Community Empowerment Grant. Read about their impressive results....
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FeatureCHV’s Guaranteed Income pilot project is having a transformative impact for Boston families
June 10, 2025
Our client, Camp Harbor View is in the second round of their guaranteed income program and we're honored to be working and learning along with them. As their evaluation partner, we have been...
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ArticleWhy we invested in professional data visualization (and why it matters for our clients)
April 28, 2025
When we launched our new brand, we took the opportunity to go beyond choosing our colors or logo. We wanted to make sure that everything we created consistently reflected who we are: a firm committed...
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ArticleLeadership Insights from Kamala Harris: What we can learn from the presidential campaign.
December 10, 2024
Even though Kamala Harris lost the presidential election, she exemplified great leadership traits during the campaign. We thought we would share them with emerging, new, and seasoned...
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ArticleNew Labor Market Study Shows Gaps Between Employers and Workforce Training System
November 29, 2023
Opportunities Exist in Middle-Skill Jobs that Do Not Require College Degrees Link to web versions at cfgnh.org and valleycommunityfoundation.org New Haven, CT (Nov. 3, 2023) — As job openings across...
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VideoLeadership Journey: A Reflection
October 26, 2023
Grab a cup of coffee and jump in as we reflect back on how leaders became leaders and why they continue in this role. Transcript: Cynthia Rojas 0:03Hi, everyone. Welcome to Coffee Time with...
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VideoAll Things Nonprofit Boards: Part 1
October 19, 2023
Boards...Boards...Boards. They can make or break a nonprofit organization. In a few weeks, we will be launching a series of conversations focused on nonprofit boards. Join us today for a sneak peek...
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VideoDeveloping High-powered Boards
October 12, 2023
Do you struggle with your board? Are your members not as engaged as you wish they were? Do you dream of a high-functioning group of partners who are just as invested as you are in the organization's...
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VideoRegional Workforce Challenges
October 5, 2023
Workforce issues are regional and today we are going to be joined by Beth Weisbrod, the Vice President of Talent and Workforce at the Chamber of Commerce in Richmond, Virginia, known as Chamber RVA....
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VideoLeadership Development for Emerging Leaders of Color
September 28, 2023
Why are leadership programs designed for people of color important? Leadership development programs have been around for decades. So, why is focusing on leadership programs, specifically for people...
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VideoFostering Leaders - Changing a Community
September 21, 2023
What if there were a leadership program that transformed leaders and the community? What would that look like? Join us as we hear about the Community Leadership Program in New Haven, Connecticut and...
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VideoImplementing with The 4 Disciplines of Execution
September 14, 2023
Today, we’re going to discuss and learn the importance of creating strategic plans and moving them into action using a specific framework to ensure that those plans don’t gather dust. Transcript:...
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VideoFundraising Board: A leader’s journey to transforming her board
August 17, 2023
Are you struggling with board engagement or getting your board members to fundraise? You are not alone. Join us as we hear one leader's journey to transforming her board....
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VideoStructural Solutions to Sustaining Your Workforce
July 27, 2023
One year ago, Laura Perille came on the show. She talked to us about struggling to maintain staffing for her early childhood education centers. Her approach was bold, a little risky, and took a...
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VideoYear 3 of COVID Times
July 20, 2023
How are you feeling as we enter Year 3 of COVID? Well, we check-in with each other to see if we have arrived at our new normal or if we are still finding our way. Join us for a deep conversation...
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VideoThe Power of Targets
July 14, 2023
Goals? Benchmarks? Outcomes? All so confusing ... What do all these words mean? Well, today we discuss why the one word you need to know is TARGET! Join us as we discuss how powerful targets can be...
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VideoInnovative Workforce Solutions: Part One
June 29, 2023
The great resignation has provided us an opportunity to shed some light on what others are already doing when it comes to workforce. Join us as we continue the conversation on innovative workplace...
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VideoWhat makes a board great?
June 22, 2023
Over the past few weeks, we have talked to leaders about how to build great boards of directors. Today, we'll debrief what have we learned so far about building and nurturing great boards. We'll be...
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VideoBoards and Strategic Planning - Their role, Their impact
June 15, 2023
Transcript: 0:00:47 Cynthia Rojas Hi, everyone, Welcome to Coffee Time with Masterminds. We have an exciting show. If you watch our shows back to back, you saw a replay with Anne Yurasek of Fio...
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VideoNonprofit Boards are Transforming: Is Yours?
June 15, 2023
Nonprofits are changing and adapting all the time, but is your Board changing? Join us as we hear from Sharon Danosky of Danosky Associates what Boards need to do to transform....
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VideoWhat today's leaders need to know
November 29, 2022
How can we support leaders throughout their careers? Today we are talking with Forrest Helvie, Director of Professional Development for Connecticut Community Colleges and Melissa Harris, Director of...
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VideoLeadership: What we need to know (Part 2)
November 29, 2022
In this episode, we learn from two leaders who participated in a leadership program specifically for emerging leaders of color. We'll hear what they learned, how this program was different, and their...
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VideoWhat's going on with the workforce?
November 29, 2022
Transcript: 0:02 Pieta Blakely does it seem like everyone's got a new job or everyone's trying to hire? It’s been a year since we started talking about the great resignation. Today, we're going to...
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VideoThe Power of Strategic Planning
November 29, 2022
Transcript: 0:04 Cynthia Rojas Hi, everyone, welcome to Coffee Time with Masterminds. We are so happy you are here. We have an amazing guest talking about an amazing topic. Did find yourself throwing...
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VideoWorkforce Development Training: What's Working?
November 29, 2022
Transcript: Pieta Blakely 0:02Many organizations are struggling to find enough workers. Today, we're going to talk about innovative solutions to prepare the workforce. Serial social entrepreneur,...
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ArticleEvaluation quick start
November 24, 2022
The year is almost over but it's not too late to create the most effective evaluation plan your program has ever had. In fact, now is the perfect time to use evaluation to reflect back on the past...
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Article
3 takeaways from talking data viz and racial equity on the Policy Viz Podcast
November 23, 2022
A few weeks ago, Eli Holder and I were invited to appear on the Policy Viz Podcast with Jon Schwabish. We were following up on our article on why it's important to consider how you're presenting data...
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VideoImplementation from a Leader’s Perspective
September 27, 2022
How do you get yourself motivated? What is your why with what you are doing? Join us as we continue our discussion about implantation… this time, from a leader’s perspective. Transcript: Cynthia...
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VideoMentorship: an important aspect of leadership development
September 27, 2022
Mentorship can be an important part of anyone's leadership journey, from early career to experienced leaders. Today, we're talking with Nate Gonzalez, expert on mentoring about developing formal and...
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ArticleGraduation keynote for YMCA Training Inc
August 25, 2022
I was asked to deliver a keynote address at the graduation of YMCA Training Inc's 132nd cycle. The YMCA Training, Inc. program is an intensive 20-week, full-time computerized office skills training...
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VideoHow to work with consultants
August 18, 2022
Today, we’re going to be discussing about the questions and answers about working successfully with your consultants. Transcript: Pieta Blakely 0:01Engaging with a consultant is a complicated and...
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VideoYear 2 of the Pandemic: Reflections of Leaders from Mission-based Organizations
August 18, 2022
Join us as we review the findings of a study with leaders reflecting on what the last two years have been like, how their leadership has changed, and what they think the future of work looks like....
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VideoRounding Out Equity in Organizations – Leadership, Evaluation, Funding
August 18, 2022
Today's Coffee Time with Masterminds episode, "Rounding Out Equity in Organizations" is the final episode in our Equity Series. Today, we discuss out of box solutions for overcoming barriers to...
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VideoLearning from Funder Feedback
August 18, 2022
Organizations can learn a lot from funder feedback. On today's Coffee Time with Mastermind's episode, we discuss how to make the most of your fundraising experience by incorporating donor feedback in...
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Article2 Things That Need To Be In Place Before You Can Build An Evaluation System
August 15, 2022
This post first appeared on the Greater Boston Evaluation Network site in 2018 A full evaluation program requires data systems and analytic capacity. Many organizations or programs feel like they’re...
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Video
Data & Making Better Decisions
August 1, 2022
Is your organization collecting more information than it can use? Do your staff have the tools to take data and make good decisions? Cynthia and Pieta are talking about how to make the most of the...
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VideoBeing a learning organization
July 28, 2022
What has your organization learned as it’s navigated the Covid pandemic? And how can you apply the best of your learning going forward? Today we’re talking about being a learning organization. What...
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ArticleWhat can go wrong? Racial equity, dataviz, & deficit thinking
July 22, 2022
In 2019, Pieta published a blog post on data visualization that was consistent with targeted universalism. Jonathan Schwabish and Alice Feng at Urban Institute picked up on that post and cited it in...
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ArticleBuilding feedback loops, one metric at a time
May 12, 2022
One of the tools that I use to manage my clients’ evaluations is Social Suite. It’s a powerful online tool that makes it possible to manage complicated evaluations and turn around analysis fast. I...
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VideoWhat can a robust data system look like?
May 6, 2022
Are you tired of patching together your outcomes for the sake of another funder's report? Would you like to get consistent reports on how well your clients are doing? Join us as we share what a...
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VideoAccurately Measure Progress
May 6, 2022
How does your organization measure progress? Today we’re talking about measurement. Measuring for management and measurement for progress. In this episode we delve into a deep discussion on how...
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ArticleMeasuring quality, quantity, and results
May 2, 2022
One of the risks when developing an evaluation plan, is developing measures without being really clear about what kind of measure they are or how we're going to use them to understand our program. In...
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VideoThe New Workforce with Alicia Modestino
April 8, 2022
Is there really a shortage of workers? How has the pandemic changed our approach to work? What does the new workforce look like and how can employers -- especially not-for-profits -- adjust. Dr...
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VideoLet's talk about Structural care!
April 8, 2022
One of our most controversial shows was on Structural Care. It was titled “I’m Mad About Self-Care”. Pieta taught all of us something that day … self-care is an illusion that puts the burden of...
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VideoCentering Collective Care in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with Enrico Manalo
April 6, 2022
Enrico Manalo, Chief of Learner Success at All Aces will join us to talk about how their organization implements collective care and what it means for the work of diversity, equity, inclusion, and...
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VideoEmbedding Structural Care into Your Organization
April 6, 2022
We have talked about the importance of structural care in organizations. In this episode, we are highlighting actual structural care techniques that you can begin to embed into your...
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ArticleEvaluation FAQs
March 15, 2022
Managing your evaluation plans internally can be complicated. Trying to design the evaluation plan that best represents your work without disrupting the work is crucial and challenging. There are a...
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VideoThe Future of Work with Lauren Currie
January 4, 2022
There’s no doubt that the workforce is dramatically different today than it was before the pandemic. Over the next few weeks, we will be exploring some of the changes and what we think it might mean...
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VideoSustaining your workforce with Laura Perille
December 10, 2021
So many organizations that offer vital services are low on staff and high on stress. What can we do to support our workers and maintain our programs? What are the long-term solutions? Laura Perille...
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VideoManaging the Great Resignation with Chanelle Goldson
December 9, 2021
What is causing this great resignation? What are people looking for? Why are they leaving their jobs? Watch as we tackle this with Chanelle Goldson and the ways on how non-profits manage this.
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VideoHow to get ahead in hiring with Nancy Varsos
December 5, 2021
One of the things the pandemic has done is isolate us. How can we reengage our team to be an effective team again? In this episode, we talked with Nancy Varsos of Varsos Consulting on how to manage...
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VideoJustice, equity, diversity, and inclusion: Making progress and measuring results
May 17, 2021
What does justice look like in your organization and in your work? How do you advance equity in your non-profit? What does success look like? This week, Dr Kimberly Truong joined us to talk about the...
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ArticleAnniversary show with Intentionally Act
April 22, 2021
Over the past year, we have discussed Covid and it's interaction with racial equity, disaster recovery, and building resilient communities. Who better to talk about these themes than Dr. Atiya...
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VideoMotivation series: Theories of motivation
March 10, 2021
How does motivation work? Where does it come from? And how can leaders build and manage it? Last week on Coffee Time, we talked theories of motivation with real applications for managing,...
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VideoMotivation series: Measures and motivation
March 4, 2021
Measures can be scary and demoralizing. But they don’t have to be. In this episode, Rebecca and I talked about harnessing measures for collaboration, problem solving, and joyful...
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VideoMotivation series: A year of Covid
February 23, 2021
We have been in a global pandemic for one year, with a mixed sense of how much longer we have to go. So how's your motivation? Leaders have a double challenge - keeping themselves and their staff...
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VideoFeedback series: Leading with effective feedback
February 9, 2021
How can we use feedback to make our organizations better? How can leaders deliver feedback in ways that help staff grow and improve? This week, we asked Cynthia to share her insights on using...
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Video
Feedback series: Learning from reporting to funders
February 2, 2021
Recently, we have talked about making a strong start to the new year. One of the themes that has come up over and over is collecting data, reflecting on it, and using it. So, for the next few weeks,...
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VideoBuild community with social media
January 27, 2021
What does it mean to do social media "well?" How do we measure output vs. engagement? What are the unexpected benefits when using social media as a not-for-profit leader? Inspirational life...
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Video
The first 100 days
January 20, 2021
The first 100 days of a leader’s tenure are the most important. Why? Well, the concept has been used for leaders of corporations as well and some nonprofits. If you are a new leader or planning...
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Article
Measuring SES series: Income, need, and living wages
January 5, 2021
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post on socio-economic status (SES). SES is usually understood to be a combination of three things: income, education, and occupation. There are multiple reasons why...
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VideoA unique approach to an annual appeal with Ann O'Brien
December 21, 2020
Extraordinary times call for creative approaches to getting your message out. This fall, we were joined by Chris Lysy to talk about unconventional communication. We learned how effective pictures can...
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VideoJoy and resilience
December 7, 2020
In stressful and uncertain times, we don’t often emphasize joy. But this week, Thaddeus Miles joined us to talk about joy as an act of resistance, a way of claiming our agency, and a source of...
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Article
Measuring socio-economic status
November 19, 2020
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog post on gathering race and ethnicity data on a survey or form. One of my readers commented that socio-economic status (SES) was also important and related. A...
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VideoAnd if you don't know, now you know
November 18, 2020
Ever feel like you're reinventing the wheel? Is your team duplicating efforts? re-writing the same text? wasting time and energy because they don't have effective ways of sharing information? Can you...
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VideoWhere do we go now?
November 9, 2020
Many leaders are struggling to adapt the methods we have always used to such a strange and unsettled time. When multiple variables are changing, some of us are finding that our usual methods of...
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Article
Race and ethnicity: Collecting demographic data in a survey
October 21, 2020
There are multiple reasons why you might want to collect race/ethnic data on a survey and each of those reasons will have different implications for what you ask and how. In this post, I will clarify...
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Video
Is your organization ready to adapt?
October 20, 2020
Right now, mission-based organizations are finding themselves adapting and innovating at record speed. Some are struggling. Dr. Tanya Hills takes us through the science of adaptation and what it...
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VideoLeading and reading: Some of our favorite books
October 14, 2020
Cynthia, Rebecca, and I are constantly recommending books to each other. And sometimes we get asked what books we use in our work. So, last week on Coffee Time, we shared some of our favorites. We...
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Video
Unconventional communication with Chris Lysy
October 8, 2020
The last few years have seen more and more elaborate forms of visual communication. But more complex is not always better. Last week on Coffee Time, Chris Lysy joined us to talk about keeping the...
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Video
Make the most of your data
September 17, 2020
Is your data supporting your strategy? Is it aligned with your mission? Last week, we chatted with Joanna Fulford, founder of Fruitful Data about creating a data strategy. What's that you ask? It's a...
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Video
Innovation and adaptation
September 8, 2020
We have been talking to leaders for 20 weeks now about leading mission-based organizations in a time of crisis. So this week, we reflected on what we have learned about innovating and adapting in a...
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Video
The role of philanthropy in building the post-2020 future
August 26, 2020
When we started airing our show this spring, we thought we'd talk about COVID for a few weeks and then run out of material. Instead, we are living through a global pandemic, the largest civil rights...
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Video
Leading productively through disruption
August 3, 2020
It just hit me recently that the way we are working now is going to be the way we will work for a long time. And a lot of us are finding it hard. So Lindsay Satterfield, productivity coach and...
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Video
The long-term financial impact of COVID
July 29, 2020
COVID-19 has disrupted our programming, disrupted our fundraising plan, and in many cases increased the need for our services. Leaders have been asked to step up in every way imaginable. Now with the...
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Video
Building and using effective feedback loops
July 14, 2020
In a time of uncertainty, building and using feedback loops is more important than ever. Some organizations excel at gathering information but struggle to use it to make effective change. Others make...
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Video
I'm mad about self care: Why self care is a myth
June 23, 2020
Last week on Coffee Time with Masterminds, Tom King, Executive Director of Massachusetts Children's Alliance joined us to talk about the idea of self-care. We explored how the term self-care...
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Article
KPIs are for driving performance: Four questions to ask about your program's KPI
April 23, 2020
To evaluate performance, most organizations select one or two KPI(s) — Key Performance Indicator(s) —to focus on. A KPI is the outcome measure that your organization is most focused on. But once...
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Video
Coffee with masterminds: Planning for the post-COVID future
April 22, 2020
This past Friday, my good friends and fellow not-for-profit consultants, Cynthia Rojas and Rebecca Tuttle and I met (virtually, of course) to create the first episode of our new, weekly series...
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Article
Selecting a Key Performance Indicator
April 14, 2020
Author’s note: this post borrows from the Results-Based Accountability Framework as well as Trying Hard is Not Good Enough by Mark Friedman. What is a KPI? KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator....
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Article
Data collection in the time of COVID-19
March 24, 2020
Well, these are unprecedented times. Last week, I held a Facebook Live to talk about some of the ways that programs might be adjusting their data-collection and use right now as we grapple with...
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ArticlePredicting the future: How to make a projection or a target
March 9, 2020
In a previous post, I discussed how to chart imputed, real, and projected data - and I promised to discuss in a future post how to project future data. I keep my promises, so here it is: how to make...
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Article
Charting imputed, real, and projected data
January 30, 2020
In a previous post, I discussed the importance of keeping a data agenda: a list of data that will be helpful to your program but is not currently being measured. Once you’ve completed your agenda,...
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Article
Keeping a data agenda
December 19, 2019
Previously, I discussed the importance and benefits of keeping a data dictionary. But as your program grows, you’re going to want to get familiar with the data dictionary’s close cousin - the...
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Article
Keeping a data dictionary
November 20, 2019
Program evaluation is a subject that often causes angst among nonprofit leaders. Though the leaders in your organization may agree it is important to track the efficacy of your programs, the...
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Article
Using a data walk to redesign a workforce development training program
November 6, 2019
Are you and your team trying to make better sense of your data? You might want to consider a Data Walk. A data walk is a simple exercise that helps staff and stakeholders understand their data and...
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Article
Does sustaining your organization go in your logic model?
September 18, 2019
Every once in a while, I see a logic model that incorporates the organization's financial sustainability. The rationale for it is that if the organization doesn't have enough resources, the program...
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Article
Sex, gender, and sexual orientation: Some resources on collecting demographic data in a survey
March 20, 2019
A few weeks ago, I published a tip on asking about gender on a survey. The subject obviously requires a lot more than one tip. Below are several excellent resources on asking about gender or sexual...
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Article
More useful guides and resources for building logic models
March 13, 2019
Last year, I published a post with a handful of resources on developing logic models. It's a new year, and I thought the subject was worth revisiting. This post includes more long-form guides and...
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Article
Presenting data for a Targeted Universalist approach
March 6, 2019
Targeted universalism is an approach that emphasizes reaching a population-level goal by ensuring that each of our sub-populations meets the goal. I’ve been thinking about the implications that...
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Article
Aligning logic models with Targeted Universalism
February 27, 2019
I have recently been thinking and reading about Targeted Universalism. Originally developed by professor and critical race scholar John A. Powell, Targeted Universalism is an approach to advancing...
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Video
A very brief introduction to evaluation methods: Non-experimental, experimental, and quasi-experimental designs
February 20, 2019
When you are evaluating a program to see whether it was effective, there are three types of approaches: experimental, non-experimental, and quasi-experimental. The difference between them is that in...
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Article
Types of evaluation studies: Process, outcome, and impact
February 13, 2019
I have written in other posts about creating a program logic model and incorporating measurement into a logic model. {{cta('43979b85-ab72-49bc-a0b0-44a90d372251','justifycenter')}} One of the reasons...
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Article
Ensuring a diverse sample without asking for sensitive information
December 29, 2018
I recently had a project where I was interviewing participants at a program that serves a very diverse group. I knew from talking with the program managers, that the population they served was...
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Article
Types of performance measures
November 28, 2018
In this post, I’m talking about how to write good performance measures. First, a clarification. I use the term performance measures to include all the output and outcome measures that can be used in...
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Article
A close relationship with staff as a measure of program quality
November 12, 2018
It is important in many programs that the participants form close and trusting relationships with staff or volunteers. In mentoring, in particular, the formation of a trusting relationship is crucial...
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Article
A large sample of the wrong people is just a waste of time: How to tell if your sample is representative
October 3, 2018
I recently posted a #tiptuesday in which I said that a sample of the wrong people was a waste of time. A friend asked “how do you know it’s the wrong people?” That’s a great question and I’ll address...
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Article
Working with youth advisers
September 10, 2018
I always enjoy interviewing youth. I find them insightful, frank, smart, and funny. But working with youth advisers to plan interviews with youth participants can make the interview process go even...
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Article
Questions and answers on focus groups
July 11, 2018
I recently had the opportunity to present a workshop on running focus groups for a group of parent advocates. They were preparing to hold focus groups with parents to learn about their engagement...
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Article
When the intervention affects the entire population: Interrupted Time Series
May 2, 2018
Most program evaluations depend on comparing people who did participate in our program to people who didn't. But how can we measure the effects of a program that affects everyone in a population? How...
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Article
Better survey results: Presenting the results of a retrospective pre-post design
April 5, 2018
A retrospective pre-post design is one where you ask learners to evaluate their own learning after a training event. This is a great alternative to administering two surveys, one before...
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Video
Randomized Control Trials: Really Gold?
March 14, 2018
A randomized control trial (RCT) is a study design in which participants are divided into two groups and one of those groups is given an intervention (the treatment group) while the other is not (the...
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Article
Selecting a logic model template: Some useful (and very readable) guides to building logic models
March 6, 2018
The first thing to know about logic models and logic model guides is there is no single righ way to build a logic model. You'll want to try out a few templates and guides and see what works best for...
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Article
On writing good performance measures: Who cares?
March 6, 2018
Sometimes, when I’m working with staff to document their program’s performance measures, I notice that they come up with some very specific descriptions of what it takes to run a quality program. For...
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Article
What internal evaluators do: Formative evaluation
March 5, 2018
One of the roles that the internal evaluation team or measurement, evaluation, and learning (MEL) plays is to gather data on ongoing programs. They provide this data to program managers so that they...
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Article
I’ve been gathering data in the field. How do I know when I’m done?
February 8, 2018
Professional program evaluators always start a study with a sampling plan. But program managers and other professionals often find themselves gathering data in a less structured way. We often need to...
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Article
Better survey results: Writing great questions
February 5, 2018
Surveys are a go-to method in program evaluation, used both to collect feedback from individuals who have participated in our programs and also to understand the needs and opinions of people in the...
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Article
The difference between strategic management and process improvement
January 26, 2018
In my blog posts, I talk a lot about various types of performance measures, how to develop and collect them, and how to incorporate them in a logic model. One thing that I have been thinking a lot...
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Article
What administrative data is and why you should use it
January 22, 2018
When we are setting out to evaluate or report on our programs, we often assume that we have to create new data, generally by going back to our participants and having them complete surveys,...
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Article
Using research and evaluations to complement your internal evaluation
January 3, 2018
In previous posts, I've mentioned that the further outcomes are in time, the harder it is to collect that outcome data. For example, if your program provides tutoring services to middle...
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Article
3 keys to selecting measures for nonprofit performance management
December 18, 2017
Many nonprofits are looking at performance management as a way to improve their ability to provide services and to use data intentionally for strategic planning. Here, when I say performance...
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Article
The difference between process indicators and performance measures
December 13, 2017
Many organizations struggle with writing their own performance measures. The goal is to create performance measures that describe the program's impact well and are useful for strategic management....
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Article
Including performance measures in a logic model for program evaluation
December 8, 2017
Now that you have developed a logic model (check out this post if you still need some help, or download my logic model guide), you might be wondering how to integrate your data collection plans with...
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Article
Demographic data on a survey: Why to collect it and what to do with it
December 6, 2017
When we're conducting a survey for program evaluation, we have probably all been told to collect some basic demographic data on every survey, but what data and why? The most important thing you can...
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Article
Implementing surveys in program evaluation: Informed consent
November 30, 2017
In program evaluation, we often don't have to go through and IRB or ethics review before we conduct a survey. That means we are responsible for conducting an ethical survey ourselves. The consent...
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Article
Some useful (and very readable) guides to building logic models
November 15, 2017
The basis of an internal evaluation program for a nonprofit organization is clear logic models. The first thing to know about logic models is there is no single right template. You'll want to try out...
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Article
Better survey results: Sampling
November 6, 2017
Whether its for a research project or a program evaluation, one of the hardest things about implementing a survey is understand who you should have respond to it. A survey is only a useful method of...
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Article
Better survey results: Likert scales (or ratings scales) and how to interpret them
November 2, 2017
A very common and useful question type in survey research is the Likert scale. That’s the kind that asks the respondent to agree or disagree with a statement, or rate the extent to which they liked...
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Article
Demographic data on a survey: Why to collect it and what to do with it
October 25, 2017
We have probably all been told to collect some basic demographic data on every survey, but what data and why? The most important thing you can do with your demographic data is to demonstrate that the...
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