Transcript Indicators of Success -

Indicators of Success -Applying the TOC
What will change?
You must be able to test your theory!
Local Theory of Change
 The process of creating a local TOC provides a
chance for the agency to “think through”
where they are going and what road they will
take.
 It makes connections among
needs, population, outcomes and services.
 What are the agency’s proposed
outcomes?
Are they consistent with the network
outcomes?
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Steps in Creating a Local TOC
From draft NASCSP workbook to be
used prior to the Strategic Planning
process
Assumptions about poverty in our
community:
What does your agency assume about poverty
in your community?
(e.g. identify causes and conditions of poverty,
how the conditions impact the people with
low-income and the community at large)
Identified Needs
Identifying the individual, family, community and agency needs
Please state the top three to five needs identified in your community
assessment and analysis process:
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Identify if these are family, agency or community level needs. Enter
“f,” “a,” or “c” in the column to the right.
Of the needs above, which are integral to your agency mission?
Are you already addressing these? (In the column to the right,
indicate yes or no)
Of those needs that are integral to the agency mission, identify
those that require community level strategies and/or partnerships
to address.
Of those that are outside the immediate focus of your agency
mission, are there things you can do to contribute to community
wide or other effort to address them?
Identifying outcomes:
Identify your agency Overall Outcomes (These are the
outcomes that are based on the community needs and
resources, the agency’s priorities and the agency planning
process. They may be achieved by multiple agency
strategies, which you will be asked to identify below.)
 Next identify the Program Outcomes (These may be
identified by program funding source or by the specific
focus of the individual program. You will be asked to state
how these Program Outcomes contribute to the Overall
Outcomes of the agency. Note: you may have “divisions” or
“departments” or other ways that you organize your
programs – if so you may have outcomes associated with a
set of programs that are so grouped.)

Identifying customers:
 There are two kinds of customers that most
agencies serve: the Service Population (those
who are served, but for which no outcomes are
expected) and the Target Population (for which
the organization holds itself accountable for the
achievement of specified outcomes).
 Who are your customers?
 Do you document outcomes or count outputs?
Target Population or Service
Population
 Target population members are those that will
achieve the outcomes the agency identified in its
Theory of Change.
 Service population members are those who
receive emergency assistance or single or short
term services for which little follow up is done,
and little “change” in status is expected.
Service Population
“Organizations generally find it almost impossible to serve target
population members only.
There are numerous reasons, including the presence of legacy
programs; funder requirements; the need to maintain credibility
and promote ease of access in local neighborhoods; and the
desirability of having a broad base of support when engaging in
advocacy.
Examples of a Service Population—youth attending a drop-in
center, school-based or community-based informative
workshops, a job “fair” or other collection of resources for a
given topic such as health, or senior citizen services, a soup
kitchen or food distribution where no follow up will be done.”
David Hunter “Working Hard and Working Well”
Identifying services and strategies:
 List the services you provide or strategies in
which your agency participates.
 Connect the service to one or more of the
outcomes you identified.
 Of the customers you identified in the
previous activity, indicate if they receive
single or multiple services in the last column.
One Service -> One Outcome
.
Service
Outcome
Multiple Services -> One Outcome
.
Service
Service
Service
Service
Outcome
One Service -> Multiple Outcomes
Outcome
Service
Outcome
Outcome
Outcome
Multiple Services -> Multiple Outcomes
.
Service
Service
Outcome
Outcome
Service
Outcome
Service
Outcome
Service
Single Service
.
Service
Service
Service
Service
Service
Making Connections
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 The “thinking” that happens between the
gathering and analysis of community
assessment data (including agency data)
and the creation of a new year’s agency wide
strategic plan is the creation of the local
agency Theory of Change.
It is when you actually identify all the elements
just mentioned, and can see how they all
connect.
The network’s long term goals:
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Low-income people become more selfsufficient.
Communities are revitalized or
thriving.
The Six National Goals
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Goal 1. Low-income people become more self-sufficient. (Family)
Goal 2. The conditions in which low-income people live are improved.
(Community)
Goal 3. Low-income people own a stake in their community.
(Community)
Goal 4. Partnerships among supporters and providers of
services to low-income people are achieved. (Agency)
Goal 5. Agencies increase their capacity to achieve results. (Agency)
Goal 6. Low-income people, especially vulnerable populations,
achieve their potential by strengthening family and other supportive
systems. (Family)
These are actually pre-conditions
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
The conditions in which low-income people live are
improved producing a revitalized or thriving community.
 Agencies increase their capacity to achieve results – and
be better able to document and analyze the changes they have
supported.

Low-income people own a stake in their community – to
improve their own social capital and take action for community issues.

Partnerships among supporters and providers of
services to low-income people are achieved – to achieve a
specific purpose.

Low-income people, especially vulnerable populations,
achieve their potential – to maintain or achieve stability.
How to Improve the National Performance
Indicators
Make explicit the connections between the indicators and goals.
Why do we think these indicate success in the Six National Goals?
 Identify the numbers of individuals, families, communities that
achieved the GOALs. Have they achieved multiple indicators?
 Connect the services provided with the indicators reported
Is it one service for one outcome? Many services for one outcome?
Many outcomes from one service?
 Clarify the population that is achieving the indicators
Target population and service population
Unduplicated count?
 Identify the results of partnerships (don’t just count them).

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Goal Four
Partnerships as a means for both
agency level goal and also as
community level goal
Suggested revision to Goal Four statement:
Partnerships among supporters and providers of
services to low-income people achieve a specific
purpose.
Alternate suggestion:
 Community Action works through
partnerships and other collective community
efforts to achieve results.
Purpose could be
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 To improve the agency functioning
 Agency customers have access to other services,
 Partners provide resources for agency activities
 To improve community conditions
 Agency participates in “Collective Impact” projects
 joins with others to increase access in low income
communities
Outcomes of partnerships?
 Sharing service
 Expanding services
 Increasing access
 Sharing information
 Create Single record
system
 Improved outcomes
 Reduce costs
 Expand capacity of staff
 Reduce paperwork
 Reduce duplication of
service
 Reduce gaps
 Tracking of referral
systems (service
received? Outcome
achieved?)
Indicators

Current NPIs only ask for counts

Looking for support/ideas for collecting data
on indicators (might be related to the
outcomes just mentioned on the prior slide)
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Family Level NPIs
Target Population
and National Goals
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GOAL ONE:
People with low incomes become more selfsufficient.
GOAL THREE:
People with low incomes who own a stake in
their community increase social capital.
GOAL SIX:
People with low incomes, especially vulnerable
populations, achieve stability.
Family Indicators for Target
Population
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 Net family household income is increased.
 Families reduce reliance on public benefits.
 Families improve status in multiple life
domains.
 Children meet developmentally appropriate
milestones.
 Vulnerable populations achieve/maintain
stability.
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Community Level NPIs
Planning for Change
“Real, lasting community change is built around
knowing where you are, where you want to be,
and whether your efforts are making a difference.
Indicators are a necessary ingredient for
sustainable change.
And the process of selecting community
indicators -- who chooses, how they choose, what
they choose -- is as important as the data you
select.”
Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission, 2011, Data That Tells A Story
Community Indicators
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• Community Action addresses complex issues that
relate to creating thriving communities.
• Community Action joins with stakeholders
(partners) to improve conditions in low income
communities.
• Communities are improved by people with low
incomes having network connections, and these
community networks help improve the social
capital of people with low incomes.
Reporting Community Work
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The agency can clearly articulate the purpose of each
partnership and the expected changes that will be
produced.
 The agency can identify the number of partnerships
that both support the agency’s activities (agency
outcome) and support community change.
 The agency can track its involvement in and value to
community changes.
 The agency records involvement of their customers
(individuals with low-income) in community projects.

Suggested revision to goal
statement
GOAL TWO:
Community Action joins with other
community stakeholders to improve the
conditions in which people with low incomes
live.
Should mention of thriving or revitalized
community be included?
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For more information
www.nascsp.org