1. Using Data to Drive Decision-Making
John W. Edwards, Jr. MPA, CCAP, NCRT, CLC
Principal Consultant
The Edwards Group Florida Incorporated

2. As boards get started oversight and data management Consider:
Learn – Build knowledge about performance management disciplines, define your theory of change, and create your outcomes framework.
Build – Start improving your tracking, and then evolve your data systems to support performance .management and outcomes data

3. Adopt – Install outcomes thinking through leadership support, data-driven management , and cultural change.

4. Promoting Family Stability Promoting Community Revitalization
1994 CSBG Reauthorization
Requiring Outcome Measures:
Promoting Self-Sufficiency
Promoting Family Stability
Promoting Community Revitalization

5. Theory of Change
Is a strategic picture of the multiple interventions/services required to produce the early and intermediate outcomes that are preconditions of reaching an ultimate goal.

6. Theory of Change Continued
There are four possible relationships between interventions/services and expected outcomes (change):
One service = One Outcome
One Service = Multiple Outcomes
Multiple Services = One Outcome
Multiple Services = Multiple Outcomes
Key = Should be an outcome for every service

7. Organizational Standards
Standard 4.2 – The organization’s Community Action Plan is outcome-based, anti-poverty focused, and ties directly to the community assessment. Standard 4.4 – The governing board receives an annual update on the success of specific strategies included in the Community Action Plan.

8. Category 6 of Organizational Standards Strategic Planning
The Strategic plan is an ambitious vision for the board and staff to execute as a key leadership and management tool for the organization.

9. Category 9 – Organizational Standards Data and Analysis
Quantitative and Qualitative data and its analysis are both critical to tell the agency- wide impact and community change. We are talking about data and its analysis for decision-making during assessment, planning, implementation, results and evaluation in a continuous cycle.

10. Talking About Data
Data refers to anything and everything from the number and names of people you serve, their characteristic and demographic information, what services are offered and the results of the services.
Data by itself is just trivia! It is only when data is analyze that data to measure something that it becomes useful.

11. Talking About Data
Outputs – services, activities, programs = doing something. It is the process. Outcome – results, change, accomplishing something. It is the product.

12. Talking About Data
Performance Management refers to actions you take to ensure you are meeting your goals effectively and efficiently. It is making sure you do what you said you were going to do, and then showing that you did it.

13. Using Data To Improve Programs
The end goal is to improve your organization’s programs and performance.
Some nonprofits have incorporated data so deeply into their cultures that a data-driven decision-making model drives much of their forward progress.

14. Steps – Using Data To Improve Performance
1. Define a goal for your data – Set the overall goal for what you hope to improve or change – what will you do with what you learn?
2. Identify data to gather to help you reach that goal – determine data points or information you can reasonably collect to inform that things you want to change.

15. Steps – Using Data to Improve Performance
3. Store data in a way that it is accessible – Where will the data live? Who will have access to it?
4. Establish a means of collecting data – processes and methods for gathering information that is accurate, consistent and usable and not an undue burden.

16. Steps – Using Data To Improve Performance
5. Report and analyze what the data is tell you – create dashboards or other visualizations to display the data in a way that makes it accessible, approachable and actionable.
6. Acting on what you have learned – how will you convert the data from knowledge to improvements

17. Successful Data Practices
Don’t Be Afraid To Start
Get Stakeholder Buy-In
Keep People Engaged
Find Someone to Champion the Project
Choose Data You Can Use
Make Data Part of the Culture
Set aside some money for the project
Clean Your Data

18. Using Data To Drive Decision-making
Ultimately, CAAs are in the change business as such the use of data at assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring progress, and evaluation are key decision points for using data for enhanced decision-making. Delivering services to achieve results requires a well-planned program design, skilled board members and staff, and the thoughtful use of technology and data collection and analysis.