The Mission-based Measure Project

Design. Evaluate. Adapt. Succeed.

Build your own evaluation plan

At Blakely Consulting, we know that program evaluation is a struggle for many nonprofit leaders. Evaluation is necessary for grant applications, donor confidence, and program improvement — but it’s difficult to know what to measure, how to measure it, and sometimes even why it’s important. Not to mention the cost involved if you need to hire a dedicated consultant to walk you through the process.

That’s why we developed this course. Our course empowers nonprofit leaders to create or improve their evaluation methods without spending a lot of money or needing a lot of expertise. And it doesn’t take a lot of time, either! By the time you finish with this course, you will know how to create a logic model, choose a wildly important goal (your WIG), and develop the KPIs (key performance indicators) that will help you reach that goal. You’ll also learn how to tell a story using data - an important skill when writing those grant applications!

In this course, you will learn to:

Create a logic model

Beyond activities, outputs, and outcomes, we’ll talk about how to avoid “wiggle words,” conquer defensiveness and fear, and avoid shifting goal posts.

Develop good metrics

You’ll learn what qualifies as a measure and what does not (hint: wishy-washy goals and milestones) as well as how to develop short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes. Bonus: you’ll learn how to relate your results to your community.

Evaluate your current measures

We’ll discuss how to take inventory of your current measures, cut through the noise, and emerge with clear, defined measures that actually make sense.

Create new measures

Now that you’ve established your goals and determined what is measurable, you’ll learn how to create a data agenda, establish your data sources, and prioritize your measures.

Rock your Wildly Important Goal (WIG)

With your new measures in hand, we’ll talk about determining one Wildly Important Goal - your most important measure - that will inspire and mobilize your team.

Be strategic with your measures

Now it’s time to dig deep: we’ll determine what works, who you can work with, and how you will know your program is working.

Develop a new plan with accountability

None of the above matters unless you have a good plan. To finish out the course, we’ll discuss the roles and responsibilities of your team, practice the “accountability conversation,” and emerge with a new plan that is clearly articulated.

The knowledge you acquire in this course will help you not only produce the outcomes you need for donors, funders, and the community, but it will also help you run effective programs with provable results.

Let's get started building your evaluation plan

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