1. The Power of Data and Stories
Dr. Sheryl Brissett-Chapman, ACSW, Ed.D.
Executive Director
The National Center for Children and Families (NCCF)

2. What are the limitations of a data driven approach?
Be curious; there are no real limitations
Need to understand and approach a problem formally and systematically
Data is powerful
You’ve got to conduct research so you can understand the practice implications
You’ve got to understand the measurable, observable link between policy and resource allocations

3. Non Profits Must Do The Research
Research to Practice
Non Profits Must Do The Research

4. But then you’ve got to tell the story

5. Why is storytelling important?
Stories are equally powerful
They help us connect to the common reality
They help you and your agency talk to people and key stakeholders
They compel you to remain curious and open to hearing the worldview of others and what they’ve been through

6. Outside of your head
Research qualifies and codes our experiences so we can discover what we cannot readily see or grasp; we can change our mind and our direction
Research guides decision making and establishes authentic priorities versus trendy assumptions; we can feel safe in taking risks because they are calculated
Research verifies our logic, documents our processes, and challenges our assessment of whether our performance produces results
Research identifies what we need to feel safe enough to change

8. Importance of Measurement Data and PQI Functions
Metrics to Manage
Importance of Measurement Data and PQI Functions

9. How do we “course correct” and stay on mission in real time?
Metrics address structural, political, human resource, and symbolic frames
Without measures, any of these frames can become distorted; the agency becomes imbalanced and dysfunctional
Without metrics, an organization cannot transition from excellent to exceptional which is a new marker in our evolving world economy

11. Evidence for the Investor

12. Educate funders on what they want to know
Are the funded practices cost effective?
Are we evidenced based? What evidence matters?
Do we lead in the field?
How do we measure up against the industry’s standards?

13. Educate funders on what they want to know
Does it bring recognition and status to the investors?
Are the practices cost effective?
What are the short term, medium term, and long term strategies?
Are we evidenced based? What works?

14. Educate funders on what they want to know
Are we setting the benchmarks? What is the depth of the problem?
Has there been discernible progress?
What are the evolving and related social issues?

16. The Importance of Addressing the Impact of Intersectionality
“The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender, as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.”

17. -Dr. Sheryl Brissett Chapman
Non-profits voluntarily organize the community to take care of its own, therefore, they must use information, data and stories, to mobilize nimble, progressive and effective institutional responses to complex, dynamic and volatile human need.
-Dr. Sheryl Brissett Chapman