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Session Title: Success Measures: Learning From Community Development Results Through Participation, Common Tools, Shared Data
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Panel Session 665 to be held in Pratt Room, Section B on Friday, November 9, 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
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Sponsored by the Non-profit and Foundations Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Maggie Grieve,
NeighborWorks America,
mgrieve@nw.org
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| Discussant(s):
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| Dawn Hanson Smart,
Clegg & Associates,
dsmart@cleggassociates.com
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| Nancy Kopf,
NeighborWorks America,
nkopf@nw.org
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| Abstract:
Success Measures is a participatory evaluation approach based on a comprehensive set of outcome indicators and offered through a package of evaluation services and web-based technology. It was developed by community-based practitioners, funders and evaluators to ensure relevance across a broad spectrum of organization sizes, locations, cultures and programs within the community development field. This panel brings together three nonprofits that have used Success Measures to evaluate results and learn from their work while integrating ongoing evaluation into their programs. Panelists are from a California-based nonprofit serving farm worker housing needs, a Mississippi Delta community development corporation and a multi-service community development organization in Philadelphia. An intermediary funder, NeighborWorks™ America, will highlight strategies to build grantee evaluation capacity across a broad member network and move to greater accountability and shared learning. Serving as a discussant, a Success Measures evaluation trainer will reflect on the different learning experiences shared by the panelists.
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Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation: Using Success Measures to Measure Affordable Multi-family Housing Results for Individuals and Communities
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| Jill Fioravanti,
Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation,
jillbfioravanti@gmail.com
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Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation is the leading affordable housing developer in Ventura County, California. Founded to serve farm workers, Cabrillo has built more than 1,000 units of affordable for-sale and multi-family rental housing, manages 440 affordable rental units, and has counseled more than 1,800 households preparing to purchase a home. In addition, Cabrillo has helped 275 families into homeownership through education, counseling, and lending services. The organization has a comprehensive multi-level evaluation framework and recently added Success Measures to enhance its efforts in learning from longer term outcomes. Cabrillo examined impacts of its multi-family rental properties and used the information gained on personal and community level change for a variety of purposes. Jill Fioravanti, the organization's Special Projects Manager and an evaluation consultant, led the Success Measures evaluation and is articulate about both the benefits and challenges involved in implementation. The organization was supported to use Success Measures by NeighborWorks America.
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Quitman County Development Organization: Measuring Resident Satisfaction, Security and Stability in the Mississippi Delta
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| Lela Keys,
Quitman County Development Corporation,
lbkeys2@bellsouth.net
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Quitman County Development Organization (QCDO) is a comprehensive community development organization using an empowerment approach in its work with the predominately African American residents in three Mississippi Delta counties. The organization's programs include affordable housing, job creation, day care, education, micro-enterprise development and a credit union. Lela Keys, a professional in the health care industry who is a member of QCDO's board, is leading their Success Measures evaluation. As a life-long resident of the region, Ms. Keys will share both her personal perspective on the value of a participatory evaluation approach for residents that are traditionally disempowered and her considerable professional experience in using evaluation to make strategic decisions. Ms. Keys will discuss QCDO's evaluation of their work to stabilize the community through new construction as well as owner occupied rehabilitation. The organization's participation in Success Measures is supported by one of its long-time funders, the F.B. Heron Foundation.
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Hispanic Association of Contractors and Enterprises: Measuring Improved Quality of Life Through Success Measures Tools
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| Maria Gonzalez,
Hispanic Association of Contractors and Enterprises,
mgonzalez@hacecdc.org
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The Hispanic Association of Contractors and Enterprises (HACE), a community development corporation based in Philadelphia, PA, offers a wide range of housing, economic development, empowerment and related services. As part of a neighborhood revitalization initiative funded by the Wachovia Regional Foundation, HACE is using Success Measures to understand how its work contributes to an improved quality of life for neighborhood residents. Maria Gonzalez, Vice President of HACE, is leading the evaluation effort. She will share her organization's experience doing primary level data collection to understand the long term changes in quality of life. Ms. Gonzalez will be able to discuss some of the challenges and benefits of gathering data in a Latino community. She will also share her experience integrating Success Measures into a large organization with multiple types of services. Finally, she will highlight the organization's key learnings and how they plan to use the information over time.
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Building Capacity to Measure Community Level Outcomes in the NeighborWorks Network
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| Brooke Finn,
NeighborWorks America,
bfinn@nw.org
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NeighborWorks™ America is a national nonprofit organization created by Congress in 1978 to provide financial support, technical assistance and training to community-based revitalization efforts. The NeighborWorks Network of over 240 organizations in 50 states serves nearly 4,500 urban, rural and suburban communities. Since 2005 NeighborWorks America has supported 42 organizations in its Network to use Success Measures. Brooke Finn, Deputy Director of National Initiatives and Applied Research, has overseen this initiative and will share the key considerations made to ensure that the training and technical assistance support offered met the needs of both larger, more sophisticated organizations as well as smaller organizations new to evaluation. She will also share key thinking about the most important decisions a similar funder or intermediary organization might have to make to invest in building the capacity of supported organizations to measure outcomes. Finally, she will share preliminary learnings from implementation to date.
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