I recently came across McKinsey and Company's Learning Driven Assessment Workbook that is based on a great framework for focusing evaluation to meet the needs of different types of programs at different times. The workbook is a simple on-line tool that is geared to the needs of foundations and investors, and results in an Assessment Plan for measuring social impact.
Since Demonstrating Value was launched, many community-based organizations have developed performance snapshots. The examples on our website have not kept up! I've recently added four new ones that show snapshots for organizations working in different impact areas including environmental, local food and health. Click on any of the images below to see the snapshots in more detail.
When it comes to tracking the business success of a social enterprise, it’s important to focus in on indicators that are truly important and directly useful to the decisions that you need to make. When any small business gets off the ground, there is a constant process of evolution in which you are evaluating success and revising what you do informally, with support from financial tracking and intuition.
When it comes to measuring impact it can be daunting to work out what's tangible and practical to do. You need to be able to think through how your work touches the lives of individuals and the community, and then focus in on measuring what will give you the biggest benefit.
In the era of greater data accessibility and new tools, many people and organizations are finding fascinating ways to use data to educate, convince and make connections about the social and environmental challenges of our time. Here are 10 interesting tools and visualizations that I've come across that give a sense of the scope and range of the data visualization world out there.
