Knowledge and Evaluation Committee Meeting February 2, 2012 Living Cities

1 Agenda Overview Welcome, Introductions, and Setting the Stage `10:00 Remarks from Ben (Slides 1-5) Update on Knowledge Strategy Update on Environmental Scan Organizational Importance of Evaluation Update on Design and Progress of Developmental Evaluation 10:45 Approach (Slides 6-11) Outcomes (Slides 12-14) Overarching outcomes Data collection methods Member value (Slides 15-16) Data collection methods Break Alignment with TII evaluation (Slides 17-18) 12:00 Next Steps/Action Items

Turning Information into Knowledge  Knowledge into Influence  Knowledge is the cornerstone of Living Cities’ leadership and influence work;  Living Cities is part of a broader problem-solving network, within which the timely dissemination of a range of knowledge content is critical;  New, innovative methods for creating and sharing content at all stages of the knowledge lifecycle- from emergent thought to tested approaches and best practices – are needed; and  Knowledge creation and sharing must be embedded within existing structures and routines of the organization to have maximum impact. Principles that Guide our Work: Goal:Develop a deliberate and systematic knowledge strategy, which ensures that Living Cities’ key “knowledge assets” – knowledge we are uniquely positioned to contribute – are being strategically mined and harnessed to maximize influence and, therefore, impact. 2

Research and Development The Integration Initiative Information Knowledge Turning Information into Knowledge  Knowledge into Influence Scanning 3 Influence Digesting & Synthesizing Does this contribute to LC leadership on target issues? Will this provoke thought/advance thinking? Creating Content Who would be interested in this knowledge? How would it best be absorbed? Disseminating & Deploying What are the best ways (content products and channels) to share this knowledge with target audiences? External Environment

Other external LC active members LC member organizations LC staff Internal Actors engaged in TII cities R&D Grantees and borrowers PMI participants Civic Leaders Federal and state policy makers Philanthropists Potential social investors Intermediaries,nonprofits Business Media External actively engaged Leadership and Influence Continuum 4 Audiences: Tweet/Brief insight Blog Post PPTWhite Paper Suite of Materials Framework Dissemination (low touch)Deployment (high touch) Social Media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Portals) Boot Camp Content: Channel: PMI/ State Opportunity Network

EC / BOARD MEETINGS How the Developmental Evaluation supports the Board’s Decision-Making Process DEVELOPMENTAL EVALUATION ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN Evaluating past and current work: In what ways are LC’s investments, strategies and tools achieving visible progress towards its outcomes? In what ways is LC providing value to its members? Evaluating past and current work: In what ways are LC’s investments, strategies and tools achieving visible progress towards its outcomes? In what ways is LC providing value to its members? Oct 2012 Thinking about the next round: Ultimately, what will it take to ensure that LC accelerates its ability to achieve its mission in the next round? How will LC produce value for its members? Thinking about the next round: Ultimately, what will it take to ensure that LC accelerates its ability to achieve its mission in the next round? How will LC produce value for its members? How are conditions changing? Given these changes, how does LC need to change its focus and strategies in the next round? Oct 2011 May

6 Agenda Overview: Approach Welcome, Introductions, and Setting the Stage `10:00 Remarks from Ben (Slides 1-5) Update on Knowledge Strategy Update on Environmental Scan Organizational Importance of Evaluation Update on Design and Progress of Developmental Evaluation 10:45 Approach (Slides 6-11) Outcomes and Member Value (Slides 12-17) Overarching outcomes Data collection methods Member value Data collection methods Break Alignment with TII evaluation (Slides 18-19) 12:00 Next Steps/Action Items

Developmental Evaluation Overview 7 Timeframe: Underway as of September 2011 Mid-term report to inform decision making about next round—August 2012 Goals: LC staff, members, field learn from results: --On-the-Ground, Leverage and Influence (Outcomes component) Members recognize and increase their differential impact (Member Value component) LC creates a culture of learning and innovation internally and in its network Approach: Developmental-- Embedding evaluative inquiry into day-to-day work so we learn and DEVELOP program and strategy in real-time.

Evaluation Focus Scope of the Living Cities Developmental Evaluation Overall Progress Toward Outcomes: On-the-Ground, Influence, Leverage Member Value Received 8 In what ways are Living Cities’ investments achieving progress toward these outcomes? How is Living Cities producing value for its members? How can Living Cities maximize the value it produces for members in the next round of funding? How are the strategies and tools Living Cities employs supporting accomplishment of these outcomes? How is who Living Cities is (its gravitas, the space and funding it creates for innovation) affecting what it is able to accomplish?? What will it take to ensure that Living Cities maximizes its contribution to integrating people, place and opportunity between now and June 2013? In the next round of funding? In what ways are Living Cities’ investments achieving progress toward our outcomes? Learning Organization Creation How do we use the evaluation to embed evaluative inquiry into our work?

People Place Opportunity Mutually reinforcing drivers that must be simultaneously addressed to achieve opportunity for low- income people & places 9 Key Drivers: People, Place, and Opportunity

On-the-ground (OTG) Results: Changes in people’s lives at the individual or population level Influence: Changes in practice, policy, partnerships and issue visibility Leverage: Changes in funding flows resulting from philanthropic, governmental, and private sector investment strategies 10 How We Measure Impact

PEOPLE Low-Income people are prepared to enter jobs and achieve economic stability PLACE Living environment enables low-income people to enter jobs and achieve economic stability OPPORTUNITY Jobs and business opportunities exist for low-income people to achieve economic stability Education Pipeline Income & Assets Transit-Oriented Development Green Economy Members Leaders Newark Cleveland Baltimore Detroit Twin Cities Policy Makers Knowledge/ Outcomes Capture & Dissemination 11

12 Agenda Overview: Outcomes and Member Value Welcome, Introductions, and Setting the Stage `10:00 Remarks from Ben (Slides 1-5) Update on Knowledge Strategy Update on Environmental Scan Organizational Importance of Evaluation Update on Design and Progress of Developmental Evaluation 10:45 Approach (Slides 6-11) Outcomes and Member Value (Slides 12-17) Overarching outcomes Data collection methods Member value Data collection methods Break Alignment with TII evaluation (Slides 18-19) 12:00 Next Steps/Action Items

1. Low income people enjoy greater economic opportunity because of the rewiring of large scale systems. 2. Low income people have expanded access to mainstream resources, products, and services. Outcomes for Living Cities’ Organizational Evaluation Increased support by government policy and public and private funding for integrated approaches to improving the lives of low-income people. Decreased policy support and funding for siloed approaches. Accelerated adoption (by philanthropy, private sector and government) of successful solutions. Increased acknowledgement and understanding of the failures of existing siloed systems by cross-sector stakeholders (local, state and national levels). Increased innovation and adaptation of mainstream products and services to benefit low income people and communities. Long-Term OutcomesEvaluation Questions In what ways are Living Cities’ investments achieving progress toward these outcomes? How are the strategies and tools Living Cities employs supporting accomplishment of these outcomes? How is who Living Cities is (its gravitas, the space and funding it creates for innovation) affecting what it is able to accomplish? Short and Intermediate Outcomes to Evaluate 13 Innovative, integrated approaches to fixing systems failures are identified and tested. Mutual responsibility for finding better solutions is taken by cross-sector stakeholders -- including new and unlikely partners. Increased number of low-income people enjoy greater economic opportunity and access to mainstream resources, products and services as a result of Living Cities’ programs.

LC staff, members, field learn from results – On-the-Ground, Influence, Leverage (Outcomes Component) Members recognize and increase their differential impact (Member Value Component) LC creates a culture of learning and innovation internally and in its network Living Cities Core Investments: TII PMI Education Boot Camps Working Groups Capital Absorption Anchor Institution Design Labs Trends In Focus Evaluation Focus Scope of the Living Cities Developmental Evaluation Living Cities Core Tools/Strategies: Catalyst Fund Grantmaking Convening Methodology Board/Committee Meetings Knowledge Strategy Evaluation Goals Overall Progress Toward Outcomes: On-the-Ground, Influence, Leverage Results, Impact, Knowledge Gained Member Value Received 14

Data Collection Methods to Evaluate Living Cities’ Outcomes 1.Validate outcomes and develop indicators 2.Cross-Cutting Stakeholder Interviews (Feb/Mar): Conduct interviews with members, member staff and key stakeholders to identify: In which investments LC has made the greatest/least measurable progress against its outcomes; The most/least valuable LC “technologies” (grantmaking, convenings, research, Catalyst Fund, etc.) vis their ability to create action toward LC’s outcomes Ways in which who LC is has affected its accomplishments; was in which LC could use who we are create greater leverage. 3.Leverage and coordinate existing/planned grant evaluations (as launched): TII, Income & Assets, Green Economy, TOD 4.Leverage Real -Time Evaluation findings and link directly to outcomes (ongoing): Capital Absorption, Anchor Institution Design Lab, Trends in Focus, PMI, Working Groups 5. Conduct deep dive evaluations on key investments in this round: Education, Boot Camps, PMI, Working Groups, TII Methods, sequence and timing: Lead assigned to each area and detailed plan (Feb) Document review (Feb) Conduct surveys (March) In-depth interviews with select members/stakeholders based on cross-cutting interviews, document reviews and survey responses (May/June) 6.Preliminary headline report from stakeholder interviews (April) 15

Provide cross-sector senior level forum Identify/create opportunity to better align work to accelerate impact Create venues that allow members to share knowledge from their own portfolios Create venues to develop and deploy emerging approaches Identify opportunities that allow members to craft shared response to crisis/emergent trends Identify opportunities that allow members to nimbly invest in crises/emergent trends Ensure that R &D investment inform member practice Learn from LC investments, activities, and LC members Support innovation in use of capital by philanthropy and financial institutions Create engagement opportunities for local, state, and federal officials and agencies Develop direct working relationships with national institutions and federal agencies How Living Cities Strives to Create Value for Members 16

Data Collection Methods to Evaluate Member Value 1.Complete material review and analysis (Feb) Member descriptions of value produced by Living Cities from document review have been captured Descriptions from commentary from 20 th Anniversary celebration have been captured Analyze descriptions in relation to types of value expected (previous slide) Use analysis to develop member survey and interview protocol 2.Conduct member surveys (Mar) Two surveys: Executive level and program staff level 3.Conduct member interviews (May/June) Identify subset of executives and program staff to interview based on survey responses and comments captured from 20 th Anniversary celebration and Annual Report Will coordinate/combine these interviews with interviews planned for the outcomes evaluation Interviews will be conducted by Fourth Quadrant Partners team 4.Track investment and participation data (ongoing) For example: Member participation in Living Cities meetings and convenings Level of member financial investment in Living Cities work 5.Include results and analysis in mid-term Developmental Evaluation Report (Aug) 17

18 Agenda Overview: Alignment with TII Welcome, Introductions, and Setting the Stage `10:00 Remarks from Ben (Slides 1-5) Update on Knowledge Strategy Update on Environmental Scan Organizational Importance of Evaluation Update on Design and Progress of Developmental Evaluation 10:45 Approach (Slides 6-11) Outcomes and Member Value (Slides 12-17) Overarching outcomes Data collection methods Member value Data collection methods Break Alignment with TII evaluation (Slides 18-19)12:00 Next Steps/Action Items

Winter 2012Spring 2012Summer 2012Fall 2012 Board /EC Meetings EC: Feb 2 Board: May 10 EC: July 2012 Board: Nov 2012 K and E Meetings Feb 2Mid- April (TBD) Early Sept (TBD) Key Evaluation Deliverables 11/28 Dev. Eval. Plan 3/10 Spring Dev. Eval. Rpt. 3/30 TII Yr. 1 Formative 6/1/ Environ-mental Scan 8/1 Midterm Dev. Eval. Rpt. 6/30 TII Yr. 1 Outcomes Evaluation Roll –up: Flow and Timing