Developing Indicators of Success

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
Success indicators (see my previous post) are crucial to monitoring and measuring the success of a program or service. In this post, I will explain how to develop indicators of success and help you to identify when to use them. Step 1: Identify Your Team  The research staff should develop indicators of success during the planning phase of your program design process in close collaboration with the program staff. If you don’t have a research team, designate who will be responsible for the oversight of the research. If any government or NGO counterparts are designing the program and have explicit knowledge of the program goals and objectives, you will want to include them.   Step 2: Identify What to Measure  Next, determine which inputs, outputs, or outcomes (see my post: What is a Logic Model?) of the program are most important to track. A program will likely use many indicators to assess the change that results from the intervention. These can be pulled from the...
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Success Indicators

Success Indicators

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
I’ve shared about logic models in previous posts; these are visual tools to help you develop successful programs or services. One of the critical pieces within a logic model is developing agreed-upon outcomes that indicate that the program is successful. To measure these, we need tools called success indicators.  How do they assess the outcomes of a program?  They do this by defining its characteristics or variables and then tracking those characteristics over time or between groups. Clear success indicators are the foundation of any effective monitoring and evaluation system. Organizations need success indicators for two reasons. The first is to track how a program is working and moving toward progress in reaching specific goals. Program staff and the program leadership team need to measure this change over time and make adjustments in real-time to help achieve the desired outcomes. The second reason these clear indicators are required is for accountability. Key stakeholders may contribute to the design of a program, but it is ultimately...
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What’s the Logic Model?

What’s the Logic Model?

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
In grad school, my thesis advisor taught me about one of the most valuable tools I have ever used in my career: the logic model. I remember being overwhelmed by the technical nature of it, but once I got out of the weeds, I absolutely fell in love with this tool and now feel like I’m almost a logic model evangelist. If you stick with me, I can show you why I feel so strongly about the logic model and, more importantly, the process that one goes through to create it.   As a tool, a logic model is beneficial when creating a new product or service for your audience. Logic models can also help you to examine an existing product or service to see if it is achieving the desired outcomes. It allows a team to challenge assumptions and look for possible changes that you need to make to an existing product, program, or service.  So what is a logic model? The short...
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The Survey Workshop

The Survey Workshop

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
I have enjoyed collaborating on this workshop with Kyle Bowen, the founder of SuperHelpful, a research firm devoted to helping museum leaders create more innovative organizations through research. Why a survey workshop? The short and honest answer: Because a survey is what your museum wants to use to listen to its audience. We would like to help you make an effective survey and use the opportunity to work with you to help your organization identify its strategic goals and develop new evaluation skills that your team will use long after completing the workshop.  The beauty of this remote workshop series is that there is no limit to the number of participants from your organization, and whoever you choose to participate in will have customized learning opportunities based on your organization and goals. Yes, you will have a ready-to-use survey tool when you complete this series. Just as importantly, you will also have a team that is more confident in openly talking about...
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