An overview of the National Performance Measures 118 NOVEMBER 2011 THE CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL & COMMUNITY SERVICE

Description of Focus Area Priority and Pilot Measures Evidence Basis for Intervention Aligned Performance Measures Examples of Programs Resources It will be helpful to have the 2012 National Performance Measures Instructions for Environmental Stewardship open as you review this presentation. It can be found here: detail.asp?tbl_nofa_id=91 detail.asp?tbl_nofa_id=91 2

Provide direct services that contribute to increased energy and water efficiency, renewable energy use, or improving at-risk ecosystems, and support increased citizen behavioral change leading to increased efficiency, renewable energy use, and ecosystem improvements particularly for economically disadvantaged households and economically disadvantaged communities. 3

Grant Activities will: Decrease energy and water consumption Improve at-risk ecosystems Increase behavioral changes that lead directly to decreased energy and water consumption or improve at-risk ecosystems Increase green training opportunities that may lead to decreased energy and water consumption or improve at-risk ecosystems 4

National Performance Measures are organized into five Tiers Priority Measures (Tiers 1 & 2) roll up into the CNCS strategic plan Pilot Measures (Tier 3) are additional national performance measures in the Focus Areas Tiers 4 and 5 are for applicants not using national measures Environmental Stewardship measures fall into Tier 2 (Priority Measures) and Tier 3 (Pilot Measures) 5

Improvement of At-Risk Trails & Waterways EN4: Number of acres of national parks, state parks, city parks, county parks, or other public and tribal lands that are improved (output) EN5: Number of miles of trails or waterways (owned/maintained by national, state, county, city or tribal governments) that are improved and/or created (output) 6

If an applicant has a program model focused on improving at-risk trails and waterways, they MUST select the priority measures provided. 7

Programs are encouraged to perform service with the greatest impact rather than creating a more superficial impact on a greater number of acres. Identify a well-documented, compelling environmental deficiency/risk/problem and propose an evidence-based intervention to address the problem (and restore the land, habitat or river to a quality ecosystem). 8

Energy Efficiency/Conservation EN1: Number of housing units of low- income households and structures weatherized or retrofitted to significantly improve energy efficiency EN2: Number of low-income households home and public building energy audits conducted 9

Energy Conservation/ Efficiency Considerations Significantly improved energy efficiency is an increase greater than 15%. Energy professionals consider this a reasonable threshold for standard weatherization. Low-income households are 200% of poverty Programs can propose to measure reduced energy consumption as an outcome (but are not required to do so) or propose an alternative outcome 10

Environmental Education EN3: Number of individuals receiving education or training in energy-efficient and environmentally-conscious practices, including but not limited to sustainable energy and other natural resources, and sustainable agriculture 11

Environmental Education Considerations Note that the environmental education or training is not limited to youth/students. This measure applies to any community individual that is educated or trained. Education and training may include single events or an on-going series. However, it does not include passive activities like distributing flyers or posting information on a website – it should have measurable learning objectives. 12

Recycling EN6: Number of tons of materials collected and recycled Recycling Considerations Recycling includes a variety of techniques including composting, re-using, and take back programs in addition to programs typically called recycling. 13

In addition to documenting that the need exists, programs must describe how the interventions the AmeriCorps members and volunteers are engaged in are both evidence-based and will have a measureable impact. The term evidence-based refers to data that supports the presence of a cause and effect relationship between the intervention and the outcome. The evidence provided must support the programs theory of change, which articulates why the intervention (member and volunteer activities) will lead to the outcomes identified by the program. 14

Sources of Evidence May Include: Past performance measurement data Results from an impact evaluation of the program Research studies documenting the outcomes of similar programs Evaluations or analysis documenting the outcomes programs engaging in similar interventions or applying similar treatments Established resource management literature 15

Programs must have at least one aligned performance measure that captures the measurable impact of their primary service activity. Aligned measures have two key components: Output and Outcome Alignment refers to whether: The outcome is likely to result from the intervention and output, and Whether the output and outcome measure the same population. 16

Outputs are counts of the amount of service that members or volunteers have completed. For example: Number of energy audits conducted on the homes of low-income households They do not provide information on benefits to or other changes in the lives of members and/or beneficiaries. 17

Outcomes specify changes that have occurred in the lives of members and/or beneficiaries. For example: reduced energy consumption They should be: Realistic Measurable during grant period Relevant to theory of change 18

Outcomes measure changes in: Attitude Behavior Condition Most programs should aim to measure a quantifiable change in behavior or condition 19

The national outputs in the Environmental Stewardship focus area do not have national outcomes, so programs will be required to develop their own outcome that is aligned with the selected national output. 20

Trees in the USA National Park in East Dakota are dying from the impact of invasive species. Community Need Number of acres of park land certified as acceptably improved by the USA Park Manager Intermediate Outcome Number of acres of national/ state/city parks or public and tribal lands that are improved Output Remove invasive species from infested areas of USA National Park Member Activity 21

The Southwest has a dwindling water supply due to the spread of Tamarisk, an invasive species that uses up to 300 gallons per day AmeriCorps members will remove Tamarisk from along riverbanks Each acre of Tamarisk uses 4.2 acre-feet of water per year and can be controlled by removal AmeriCorps members will remove 100 acres of Tamarisk The park manager has certified that the Tamarisk removal was successful and will save water 22

Households at % of poverty spend 17 % of their income on energy – 3 times more than the average household. AmeriCorps members will conduct energy audits and weatherization for low-income households. The Dept. of Energy has found weatherization reduces energy consumption by 15% or more. AmeriCorps members will weatherize 45 homes Weatherized homes reduce energy consumption by 1,440 MMbtus (million btus). 23

2012 National Performance Measures Instructions ding/nofa_detail.asp?tbl_nofa_id=91 ding/nofa_detail.asp?tbl_nofa_id=91 Other Performance Measurement Resources, including Webinars and Sample Instruments Information on the AmeriCorps Grant Competitions or