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Andrew Means

Andrew Means is Head of the Beyond.Uptake Foundation and Co-Founder of The Impact Lab. He has previously held leadership positions at The University of Chicago’s Center for Data Science & Public Policy, Groupon, and the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. He holds a Master in Public Policy from the Harris School at the University of Chicago. Andrew is a member of the Board of Directors at Ingenuity Inc.

Posts by Andrew Means

Does legal status matter?

Mark Zuckerberg’s choice to use the legal structure of an LLC for his philanthropic endeavors has been making headlines for the last several months. When he sold $95m worth of his shares in June the storm started again with Wired saying “He’s No Hero Yet” and The Chronicle of Philanthropy asking whether John D. Rockefeller […]

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Overhead is not the issue

I need to get this off my chest. I am sick and tired of hearing about overhead. I don’t even mean in the overhead-ratio police kind of way. I mean at all. It is an irrelevant metric. It is a complete and utter distraction from the measurements that really matter. I’ll go one step further. […]

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Better is Good Enough: Putting Imperfect Data to Good Use

Math is nice isn’t it? That feeling of getting the right answer. 1 + 1 = 2. There is no other answer. It’s so clear. Something is either correct or incorrect. It’s not left open to interpretation. Our first exposure to numbers is usually this kind of simple mathematics. We get used to this clarity […]

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When Algorithms Run the Government

The Impact Lab’s Andrew Means calls for transparency in algorithmic decision-making to ensure proper, equitable practice in service of the public good.

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The Market for Nonprofit Lemons: Andrew Means on Transparency in the Social Market

I’m not going to bury the lede. I think the nonprofit sector has too many ineffectual organizations with too many resources. I think it’s a problem when the quality of impact isn’t correlated with the quantity of dollars donated. But to get us all to my point of frustration we’re going to take a nerdy […]

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Do Good Data: Revolutionizing the Social Sector

  On April 27th, the Chicago Hyatt Regency ballroom began filling up with 900 people from 20 countries and nearly every state. They were gathering for two days of learning, community, and nerdery at the fourth annual Do Good Data conference.   When I started Do Good Data three and a half years ago, I […]

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Why This Data Nerd Isn’t Sold on Effective Altruism

Digital Impact Councilmember Andrew Means says more can be achieved by allocating limited resources across organizations, but who sets the agenda?

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Community Insights: Andrew Means

For the first interview in our Community Insights series, we sit down with Andrew Means, Co-Founder of The Impact Lab.

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We Need More Data Talent

  We need more data talent in the nonprofit sector. Data has the power to revolutionize our organizations yet we lack the workforce to launch the revolution. So where should this workforce come from?   There are two strategies we can employ to increase the data talent in the sector; attract or develop.   Many […]

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The Role of Data

Last week I published The Death of Program Evaluation, highlighting my firm belief that evaluation as it is today needs to change and evolve. Program evaluation is often not forward looking, over-focused on statistical proof, and actually undermines program improvement. The post sparked a debate across twitter, the website, and the Markets for Good community […]

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