Ingvild Bjornvold, Social Solutions

When it comes to determining how effective programs and organizations are, anecdotes don't tell the whole story. Many programs, when evaluated, have been shown to be ineffective or have negative outcomes. In the absence of systematically collected data, nobody would ever know.

In recognition of this potential to cause unintended harm, the best nonprofits -- those passionate about changing lives for the better (and equally convinced of their ethical obligation to make absolutely certain they do no harm) -- use technology and implement performance management systems to analyze and manage their efforts, processes, and outcomes with the goal of continual improvement.

The emphasis on producing social value and placing clients' well-being first converges with high performing organizations' need to raise money effectively. When faced with grant applications from organizations that can show results and organizations that cannot, most funders' choices are clear. A well-designed performance management system will, in other words, help an organization become more effective at serving people and at raising money in an increasingly competitive market.

Data systems have come a long way from unwieldy Excel spreadsheets and calculators. Modern systems should be user-friendly to both direct service providers and administrators, provide real-time feedback, and generally make everybody's lives easier.

There are some key elements to look for when your organization is ready to evaluate a performance management data system. But it all starts with a commitment to excellence and a theory of change that identifies explicit, clear, measurable objectives.

Designing A Successful Performance Management System

Your organization is ready for a change. Your funders and your board are demanding greater accountability. The executive team is firmly committed to embracing the need to manage the organization rationally, efficiently, and with ongoing attention to the quality and effectiveness of its work. It's time to develop your organization's theory of change, to make sure you track the "right" information.

To do this, your organization should identify its target population, the client outcomes it is working to achieve, the indicators it will use to assess its outcomes, and the level and quality of services it will provide to achieve its outcome objectives.

Will you track results of adult literacy tests or teens transitioned into work programs? Gather staff at all levels to understand, cooperatively, your organization's key outcomes, indicators, and performance targets. Also, make sure the theory of change is reasonable within the context of available research; there is no need to reinvent the wheel, and ignoring what is already known about what works (and what does not work) could mean making unnecessary mistakes at substantial cost to clients.

Now it's time for the implementation of a performance management data system. The key elements to assess in any system will be explored below, but, generally speaking, an effective system can be used at the individual, program, and organizational levels -- in real time -- to enter and access data needed to manage programs on a day-to-day basis.

Performance Management Data Systems -- Key Elements to Assess

Cost:

How much any organization is willing to invest in a performance management data system is relative to its size and resources. Such an investment could pay for itself, however, in the form of increased effectiveness and increased funding.

Some elements of pricing to consider: Is the system a "one time" software package price or initial license fee or will there be yearly licensing fees? Is the cost a blanket fee for the entire organization, or will you pay per end-user?

User Friendliness:

The best systems make everybody's job easier. Evaluate how easy the technology is to learn and how intuitive it is to navigate. Do screens look clean and inviting to use? Can the system be customized or configured to best suit your users and without additional vendor fees? Is it easy to enter data? Ideally, the system should feature real-time data entry and retrieval.

Easy Support for Capturing Unique Client Records:

Does the system automatically generate unique client identifiers complete with key demographic, baseline and outcome data? Does it provide service utilization information (such as tracking premature exits from programs and reasons why)?

Support for Direct Service Staff:

The system must be useful for staff in their daily work. This can mean easy-to-use tools for managing client contacts and relationships, or even phone lists and birthday reminders.

Tracking and reporting of client service utilization that details incremental progress is critical and can be very valuable in helping both staff and participants in programs stay motivated and engaged over time.

Support for Higher Level Management:

Higher level managers tend to be concerned about the big picture and need flexible ways to slice, divide, and otherwise examine data.

A system should provide individual level and aggregated enrollment reports tracking client engagement across all programs as well as reports that broadly examine client demographics, baseline profiles, client services utilization, and client and program outcomes. It should also provide tools for flexible, customized data analysis.

Other Items To Consider:

• Web-based systems provide the advantage of remote, flexible access for all end users. Consider who will host the infrastructure -- you or the software vendor?
• Also, consider scalability and ease of implementation. As you grow, will your technology solution grow with you?
• Your staff will require training to learn how to use a new system. Evaluate the quality and cost of training by your vendor and their availability to return after implementation for periodic follow-ups and refreshers.
• Evaluate the system's security. Does it provide protected levels of access within your organization, a tracking history of individual records and their modification with audit capability? Does it provide protection against external access, redundancy, remote daily automated back-up and ease of data retrieval in cases of disastrous system events?
• Don't forget about tech support. Can support for the system be managed in-house or will it require remote technical assistance, and at what cost?

The last step of implementing performance management technology is to USE IT. Organizations must make it a routine at every level to enter data, make data-driven adjustments to programs and activities as needed, and work -- relentlessly, passionately, and productively -- to achieve their missions.