Our Journey Into 2021
As noted in last month’s blog post, 2020 brought great change to the Good Measure community. We adapted programs and offerings to fit a virtual model and made the best of our shredded plans, working with the old model and adapting it to fit the new worlds. In 2021, we are committed to being more intentional about how we deliver our programming and content in an effort to meet folks where they are and create more accessible and equitable ways to connect to this community of Data & Learning Champions. Below you’ll find an outline of our planned changes for Good Measure programming, which will remain virtual through 2021.
Partners in Measurement
Last year’s Partners in Measurement series focused on COVID-19 response and thinking deeply about how funders support nonprofits through this trying time. This year, we’d like to take the conversation further and focus on topics to bolster funder support in this work, building upon our understanding of the Guiding Principles for Funders and centering equity in our data and evaluation conversation with nonprofits. With four planned sessions kicking off in April, we hope you’ll join us as we learn and grow together through this interactive, engaging experience.
Funders, please look for an invitation to join the Partners in Measurement series coming in February.
Coaching Circles
Last year’s Good Measure Coaching Circle provided a space for Data & Evaluation professionals to come together and build strategies toward solving data & evaluation challenges with the action learning process. A phenomenal success, this series will be offered again in 2021, with an additional series offering for funders to work on data & evaluation challenges in the philanthropy sector.
Coaching Circles applications and event registration will open in March, with series’ beginning in May.
Data Leaders Academy
The Good Measure team collected and analyzed feedback from class day surveys, a series evaluation, and a focus group, to better understand the needs of individual Data & Learning Champions in the nonprofit sector and how they were (or not) able to adapt to Data Leaders Academy in a virtual format. In 2021, we plan to incorporate the feedback collected in the following ways
Exploring new ways to deliver content and programming in a virtual setting
Guest speakers and topics relevant and responsive to the cohort’s needs
Deeper dives into specific methods and practices, including workshopping time
A focus on equity through the revised Guiding Principles for Data and Learning Champions (coming soon!)
Data Leaders Academy applications will open in late February – more details to come.
Data Leader Meet-Ups
Good Measure program alumni; we see you, we hear you, and we invite you to join us in conversation and community. The Data Leaders Academy alumni meet-ups have been going strong for two years and will continue into 2021. This year Good Measure will host six virtual meet-ups for alumni of our programs to connect, brainstorm, and learn together. Our open-format of listening to and offering solutions for challenges that participants are facing allows for the conversation to address topics as needed and lean on the lived experience and expertise in the Zoom room.
Data Leaders, Measuring What Matters, and Coaching Circle alums, look for an email invitation in early February to the 2021 meetup series.
Special Projects Fund
Good Measure is excited to continue to offer an open Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Special Projects Fund in 2021. Through this RFP, we will be inviting proposals from networks, collaboratives, and individual organizations whose work strengthens the Central Texas Data Ecosystem with an equity focus. In addition, we will be exploring how to better incorporate stakeholder voice in the planning of requirements and guidelines.
The Special Projects Fund application will be open in March - more details to come.
Measuring What Matters
A central tenet of Good Measure is to support nonprofits and funders in evaluating their own impact. In 2021, we are walking the talk and pausing our Measuring What Matters series to conduct an evaluation on this program. We plan to gather feedback and think deeply about what nonprofits truly need (and what they are getting), how to create a more equitable experience, and how to make resources and content more accessible for participating organizations. While we conduct this evaluation, we’re not going silent – to hold ourselves accountable and practice learning out loud, we plan to blog about our evaluation journey with Measuring What Matters and are committed to refreshing the program in time for it to come back strong in 2022.
Look for updates on Measuring What Matters in our communications throughout this year.
Newsletters & Blogs
You may have noticed that our communications have changed over the last year. Good Measure is committed to providing our community with information about events, resources, and happenings, across the sector and around the nation. We also want to use this platform to elevate and broadcast the good data work happening in our community, beyond just Good Measure programming. Newsletters and blogs are the foundation of our communications, and you can expect them monthly through 2021.
Look for newsletters and blogs (like this one!) in your inbox at the beginning of each month.
Adapting to community need is a balance of planning ahead, yet being flexible and adaptable as needs shift. We hope you will consider what offerings might be best for you and what way(s) you may want to connect with Good Measure in the coming year. If none of these feel right for you, please drop us a note and let us know if there are ways you would prefer to connect! We value community feedback and want to ensure that we are providing channels for creating an equitable community focused on strengthening data and evaluations efforts in Central Texas. Please also share this newsletter within your network, as we are always looking to expand impact!