GOOD INTENTIONS : USING DATA TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE 1 Prepared & Presented By: Renata Cobbs Fletcher Consultant, M.H. West & Co. Persistently Dangerous Schools Grantee Conference September 20-21, 2011

PURPOSE OF PRESENTATION To gain a deeper understanding of why data is a critical program management, budget, and sustainability tool To gain deeper knowledge about how data can be used strategically and systematically To learn to love data 2

WHY ARE WE COLLECTING DATA? Friend to Groucho Marx: “Life is difficult!” Marx to Friend: “Compared to what?” 3

WHY ARE WE COLLECTING DATA? 1.What gets measures gets done. 2.If you don’t measure results, you can’t tell success from failure. 3.If you can’t see success, you can’t reward it. 4.If you can’t reward success, you’re probably rewarding failure. 5.If you can’t see success, you can’t learn from it. 6.If you can’t recognize failure, you can’t learn from it. 7.If you can demonstrate results, you can win public support. Adapted from Osborne, D and T. Gaebler. (1992). In Patton, M. Q. (1997). Utilization-Focused Evaluation. (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 4

OTHER REASONS TO LOVE DATA  Staff and other program stakeholders can be motivated by the results  Even poor results can serve as the basis for seeking expanded funding for increased staffing, bigger facilities, etc. programming  If accurate, It is the truth  It can tell us what we need to do less of or more of  It can tell us what we might not be collecting and should be 5

HATERS: WHY DOES DATA COLLECTION HAVE SO MANY?  We don’t have the time to focus on it  I can’t stand navel gazing  I know that people will make things up to make the program look good  We can tell you now what the data will say  I don’t need data to tell me anything. I know in my heart this program works  The data doesn’t tell the story of the great things we do  I don’t understand the data 6

EXERCISE: ANALYZE YOUR PROGRAM’S DATA  Are your organization’s results to date what you expected? Why or why not?  Can you explain the results? How?  Is there anything you feel is missing from the results?  Can the results help improve the program? How? 7

TIPS FOR USING DATA  Information gleaned from data and research must be operationalized for maximum effectiveness and impact  Data must be disseminated to all partners on a frequent and systematic basis  All partners must be actively engaged in data review, analysis, interpretation 8

TIPS FOR USING DATA  Run internal reports regularly (weekly, bi- weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually)  Convene with staff to review and discuss data reports (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually)  Make certain that all staff and program stakeholders know what the benchmarks, goals and outcomes are for the program and for each component 9

TIPS FOR USING DATA  Staff and program stakeholders must all be fully informed about what the goals, benchmarks, and outcomes are for the program and for each component  Staff and program stakeholders must agree to take responsibility for the realization of intended goals, benchmarks and outcomes through concrete, agreed-upon strategies and timelines  Staff and program stakeholders must meet to review and discuss data reports (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually) 10

TIPS FOR USING DATA  Primary, secondary and tertiary benefits should be identified (primary outcomes, cost benefits, participants’ self-reported perceptions of positive changes in themselves (depression, happiness, etc.)  Budgets should be regularly reviewed through the lens of the data collected and revised accordingly 11

TIPS FOR USING DATA  Disseminate findings externally and strategically for public relations, marketing, and financial support and sustainability requests to current and future funders 12

CONCLUSION Q&A “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results” - Milton Friedman 13