Good Intentions :

1. Good Intentions: Using Data to Improve Performance Prepared & Presented By: Renata Cobbs Fletcher Consultant, M.H. West & Co. Persistently Dangerous Schools Grantee Conference September 20-21, 2011

2. Purpose of Presentation • To gain a deeper understanding of why data is a critical program management, budget, and sustainability tool • To gain deeper knowledge about how data can be used strategically and systematically • To learn to love data

3. Why Are We Collecting Data? • Friend to Groucho Marx: “Life is difficult!” • Marx to Friend: “Compared to what?”

4. Why Are We Collecting Data? • What gets measures gets done. • If you don’t measure results, you can’t tell success from failure. • If you can’t see success, you can’t reward it. • If you can’t reward success, you’re probably rewarding failure. • If you can’t see success, you can’t learn from it. • If you can’t recognize failure, you can’t learn from it. • If you can demonstrate results, you can win public support. Adapted from Osborne, D and T. Gaebler. (1992). In Patton, M. Q. (1997). Utilization-Focused Evaluation. (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

5. Other Reasons to Love Data • Staff and other program stakeholders can be motivated by the results • Even poor results can serve as the basis for seeking expanded funding for increased staffing, bigger facilities, etc. programming • If accurate, It is the truth • It can tell us what we need to do less of or more of • It can tell us what we might not be collecting and should be

6. Haters:Why Does Data Collection Have So Many? • We don’t have the time to focus on it • I can’t stand navel gazing • I know that people will make things up to make the program look good • We can tell you now what the data will say • I don’t need data to tell me anything. I know in my heart this program works • The data doesn’t tell the story of the great things we do • I don’t understand the data

7. Exercise: Analyze your program’s Data • Are your organization’s results to date what you expected? Why or why not? • Can you explain the results? How? • Is there anything you feel is missing from the results? • Can the results help improve the program? How?

8. Tips for Using Data • Information gleaned from data and research must be operationalized for maximum effectiveness and impact • Data must be disseminated to all partners on a frequent and systematic basis • All partners must be actively engaged in data review, analysis, interpretation

9. Tips for Using Data • Run internal reports regularly (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually) • Convene with staff to review and discuss data reports (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually) • Make certain that all staff and program stakeholders know what the benchmarks, goals and outcomes are for the program and for each component

10. Tips for Using Data • Staff and program stakeholders must all be fully informed about what the goals, benchmarks, and outcomes are for the program and for each component • Staff and program stakeholders must agree to take responsibility for the realization of intended goals, benchmarks and outcomes through concrete, agreed-upon strategies and timelines • Staff and program stakeholders must meet to review and discuss data reports (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually)

11. Tips for Using Data • Primary, secondary and tertiary benefits should be identified (primary outcomes, cost benefits, participants’ self-reported perceptions of positive changes in themselves (depression, happiness, etc.) • Budgets should be regularly reviewed through the lens of the data collected and revised accordingly

12. Tips for Using Data • Disseminate findings externally and strategically for public relations, marketing, and financial support and sustainability requests to current and future funders

13. Conclusion • Q&A “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results” - Milton Friedman