Search Results for: policy

We find ourselves in the flurry of activity that is to be expected of the dawn of any movement. On this ground, there is an equalizing factor as the social sector, business, and government are all staring into an opportunity that demands immediate ramping of high-quality data practice. In that...

The following post begins a new series: Notes From The Field.  Here, we will take a look at various initiatives and organizations, or applications and tools on the landscape of the information infrastructure. We start with Elizabeth Clay Roy,  Deputy Director of Opportunity Nation, discussing the “Opportunity Index.” If there is such...

Recently I had the opportunity to sit with Andrew Ackerman, Executive Director of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM). The conversation landed squarely on the information infrastructure in the social sector, particularly as it concerns knowledge networks. How do you build and maintain one that works for your organization? How...

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been examining the theme of Beneficiary Feedback. We’ve chosen “beneficiary” for convenience, but even finding an appropriate word (consumer? constituent? recipient?) is more than semantics, giving insight into how an organization perceives the people it proposes to help. A brief tour of the sector...

Denise Raquel Dunning, Program Director of AGALI, contends that the social sector is missing out on knowledge and expertise that is patently available. We’re not listening to the voices of people served – not on the level of a recognizable and consistent competency. And that means we are falling short...

Based on his work as Founder, President and CEO of the Family Independence Initiative, MacArthur Genius Award winner Mauricio Lim Miller brings an uncommon lens to the modern concept of “social,” redirecting the investment of thought and resources toward the social ties that can directly change lives. He also refreshes...

Continuing Markets For Good’s examination of beneficiary feedback in the social sector, Debby Visser notes movement at the infrastructural level of data (the stocks, flows, and sources) in community development work, particularly how data from beneficiaries is being aggregated and incorporated into the work of improving communities and changing lives....

In this post, Perla Ni gives an overview of beneficiary feedback from the community perspective, noting that feedback tools for grantmakers, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations must demonstrate on-the-ground results and lead to improvements in programming and in quality of life for beneficiaries.  So, where are we today with community...

There’s visible progress in the social sector with respect to how organizations listen to and incorporate feedback from the people they serve. But, John Hecklinger of GlobalGiving proposes that we’re at risk of only fits and starts (not real progress) toward a truly robust system to gain beneficiary feedback if...

“Listening to the customer” is often taken as a businesses assumption. But, solid program design is what brings that assumption into a method for gaining actionable data. Before providing a few practical guidelines on design, however, Marny Sumrall, Executive Director of YouthTruth, starts with a less talked-about question: Are you emotionally prepared...