Spark Insight Partners develops innovative, research-based solutions to complex societal problems.
This blog is co-authored by Dr. Jewlya Lynn, Spark Policy Institute, and Hallie Preskill, FSG. The blog is also posted on FSG’s website: www.fsg.org Traditionally, evaluation has focused on understanding whether a program is making progress against pre-determined indicators. In this context, the quality of the evaluation is often measured in part by the “rigor” …
Continue reading “Redefining Rigor: Describing quality evaluation in complex, adaptive settings”
How do you know if you’re getting the best quality in your evaluations? Quality in evaluation used to be defined as rigor (and sometimes still is), with rigor meaning the competence of the evaluator, the legitimacy of the process and, of course, applying the best research methods to the collection and analysis of data. These …
Continue reading “How do you know if you’re getting the best quality in your evaluations?”
What does it take to trigger systemic changes that can improve quality of life in a community? One suggestion that emerged from the Better Place convening in San Diego earlier this month was the idea of novelty: we need a novel idea and then opportunities to test it, discover its value, and take it to …
Continue reading “A Better Place: Contemplating systems change in place based work”
On October 5th and 6th, I will have the opportunity to facilitate a session on how evaluation can help stakeholders understand and strengthen cross-sector partnerships and collaboration more broadly at the Art & Science of Place-Based Evaluation. The conference is hosted by Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions, and …
Continue reading “Evaluating Collaboration in Place-based Initiatives: Can it Move the Needle?”
One of the best parts of my job is helping organizations use learning to do good, even better. Recently, we worked with Project Health Colorado, a strategy funded by The Colorado Trust with support from The Colorado Health Foundation, focused on building public will to achieve access to health for all Coloradans by fostering a …
I had the good fortune in June to find myself in the Virgin Islands facilitating a strategic roadmap session focused on addressing food systems issues, followed by a few days on the beaches with my family. The wonderful thing about a beach vacation, other than watching the absolute joy on your child’s face as they …
What happens when 14 community organizations, two foundations and several communications experts come together to change how the public thinks about access to health care? You build a movement. Project Health Colorado (PHC) was a groundbreaking three-year Colorado Trust initiative to build public will for access to health. PHC involved 14 community organizations that used …
With a half dozen Collective Impact evaluations in the last year alone, it’s becoming second nature for me to think about the complexity inherent in evaluating Collective Impact. The model’s emphasis on a shared measurement system has been both a benefit to evaluation and a hindrance. Sometimes I find that recognizing the need for shared …
Continue reading “Evaluating Complexity: Developmental Evaluation in Collective Impact”
We recently wrapped up an evaluation of a national advocacy campaign, where advocacy organizations were funded in states throughout the country to push forward a common agenda. The evaluation findings highlighted how different advocacy organizations bring different capacities to the table. While technical assistance can expand that capacity, it can’t change the reality that no …
Continue reading “We’re all in this together: Why partnership makes advocacy work better”
Many things worth doing cannot be done quickly. Changing public policy systems, building communities, tackling complex social issues, and advocating for meaningful change are not things one undertakes and completes in a single year, three years, or sometimes even in ten years. Yet, at the same time, we all have funders and our funders need …
Continue reading “This is going to take us 10 years! What do we tell our funders now?”
