Years ago, we wrote a post titled “It’s Just a Database,” emphasizing that a database is just a tool, and it’s only as good as the data you put in it. Now, we are revisiting that theme in response to a common request we receive. Nonprofits often reach out to us seeking help to transition[…]
A messy shared drive is more than a headache. It’s a business process and knowledge management disaster. An organization cannot plan thoughtfully, design intentionally, work efficiently, and learn continuously if it cannot store, find, and use its decisions, plans, efforts, and insights. Google Drive, SharePoint, OneDrive, etc. are all powerful tools for file sharing and[…]
Nonprofit professionals are do-ers. We are fixers. Heck, we build planes while we fly them, right? Believe it or not, these penchants for action and for fixing can actually interfere with sound problem solving, data-informed decision-making, and continuous improvement. In our rush to make changes and improvements, we skip important steps that shortchange our understanding[…]
In my last post, I argued that this crisis is an opportunity to re-imagine your work. It has the potential to change the way we define our Why, What, and How as organizations. In this post, I want to focus on our How – the processes we use to serve our clients, lead our teams,[…]
Yes, this is one of those posts that aims to re-frame this crisis, to find a silver lining, to see the glass half-full. If you’re not in the mood for that right now, I won’t be offended. But please do come back and read this post when you’re ready to think about what’s next. In[…]
Evaluation, performance management, project management, and quality improvement (everything I do) all have at least one thing in common. They start with the end in mind, articulating goals. Before anything else, they ask what the end game is. For example: Evaluation – What do you want to learn from this evaluation? How do you want[…]
As promised in our October newsletter (click here to subscribe), Insight Partners has some exciting things planned for our third year, including this blog series by guest blogger Julia Pickup, MSW, LCSW. Julia is a highly skilled therapist, clinical supervisor, instructor, and program director. She thrives on developing clinicians to reach their full potential, building team[…]
Has your organization recently completed a strategic planning process and created a “plan” that is nothing more than a glorified (and long) laundry list? Do you create annual plans full of aspirational goals that never quite get fully operationalized or implemented because no one knows where to start? Did you get a list of feedback[…]
This is the fourth and final post in a series on Evaluative Thinking (ET) in nonprofits. In the first post, I shared definitions of ET and contrasted it with evaluation itself. Next, I shared some tips and tools for encouraging and practicing ET. And last time, I shared some examples of what ET looks like[…]
In my last post, I offered some common definitions of evaluative thinking compared to evaluation and stressed how critical evaluative thinking is to meaningful and useful evaluation. In this post, I want to share some tips for encouraging and practicing evaluative thinking within your organizations. Setting the Stage In their article Defining and Teaching Evaluative[…]