To Truly Understand Some Lack of Embarrassment is Key

To Truly Understand Some Lack of Embarrassment is Key

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
Why are kids so good at asking why? As adults, we also want to know why, but crucial differences between kids and us get in the way of really understanding why (or why we don’t) seek the answer. So whether you want to know why visitors to your museum are not coming back after their first visit or wonder why employee satisfaction is down, the keys lie in cultivating our inner child to get to the answer to both simple and complex questions. Kids’ lack of embarrassment is a key factor in their strengths in exploring the world around them. Toddlers and small children are not embarrassed about not knowing something. We, as adults, are terrified to look stupid in front of others. We are socialized to think that we are stupid if we don’t know something. Unfortunately, years of schooling and working in teams have provided plenty of experiences that enforced this idea. We may remember once asking why and...
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Setting Baselines and Targets

Setting Baselines and Targets

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
If you have created a logic model and are in the process of developing indicators of success as part of your evaluation plan, you must understand the process of setting baselines and targets. Targets Targets are pre-established goals set for the program, and they help create a path and end destination for what you hope to achieve with a program or service (the intervention). Often defined in numbers or percentages, they indicate success. Include these numbers in your logic model to help all stakeholders see how success is measured. For example, if your team is creating a STEM career internship for girls, a sample target might be that 90% of participants completed the full three-month internship. This completion rate target is SMART and indicates success in the short term. If you want a target that helps you show long-term impacts of the intervention -the internship- you might wish to a follow-up interview after five years, where you look for 50% of interns...
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