Why Benchmarking Doesn’t Work in the Social Sector
Benchmarking in the social sector is tricky because – while more productivity (i.e., serving more people) and more impact (i.e., more goodness in the world) seem like they would always be desirable – that’s not always the case! More is not necessarily better, and efficiency is often not the goal.
VIDEO: Why Benchmarking Doesn’t Work in the Social Sector
VIDEO: Benchmarking in the social sector is tricky because – while more productivity (i.e., serving more people) and more impact (i.e., more goodness in the world) seem like they would always be desirable – that’s not always the case! More is not necessarily better, and efficiency is often not the goal.
The Trick to Defining Success in the Social Sector
In 20+ years of working with social sector partners, I’ve never met a single person who does not really, really want there to be a single number – like “profit” – that nonprofits can use as a simple, clear indicator of success.
VIDEO: The Trick to Defining Success in the Social Sector
VIDEO: In 20+ years of working with social sector partners, I’ve never met a single person who does not really, really want there to be a single number – like “profit” – that nonprofits can use as a simple, clear indicator of success.
Graphs that Help You Ask Important Questions
This weekend, I was thinking about how data can be used for good, and how data can be used for evil. So today, I thought I'd talk about how you can use graphs to understand your data in ways that build trust and understanding (good) or they can obscure the truth and promote stereotypes (evil).
VIDEO: Graphs that Help You Ask Important Questions
VIDEO: This weekend, I was thinking about how data can be used for good, and how data can be used for evil. So today, I thought I'd talk about how you can use graphs to understand your data in ways that build trust and understanding (good) or they can obscure the truth and promote stereotypes (evil).
A Strategy for Co-Building Knowledge
What if... we established uncomplicated, sector-specific structures, defined metrics, and capacity for tracking, analyzing, and using impact data?
VIDEO: A Strategy for Co-Building Knowledge
VIDEO: What if... we established uncomplicated, sector-specific structures, defined metrics, and capacity for tracking, analyzing, and using impact data?
Insights Lead to Action
I was meeting with a funder last week, and they were asking me to confirm they were making good data-driven insights. They were not feeling clear about exactly what an insight is. These are super smart and insightful people, so they can't be the only one wondering this. For all you co-wonderers - this blog's for you!
VIDEO: Insights Lead to Action
VIDEO: I was meeting with a funder last week, and they were asking me to confirm they were making good data-driven insights. They were not feeling clear about exactly what an insight is. These are super smart and insightful people, so they can't be the only one wondering this. For all you co-wonderers - this blog's for you!