Resources I’ve developed
Tools and resources that I have developed for measurement and evaluation of community organizing and policy-change advocacy
Conserve “Process Knowledge” for Organizational Resilience
“Process knowledge” is that set of unwritten rules about how work actually gets done. Experienced workers have it. But too often in social change organizations it is not effectively disseminated. If staff leave or retire without sharing their “tacit know how,” the organization spends valuable resources to recoup what should be safe in institutional memory. Organizations can save themselves time and money over time by systematically using the simple knowledge-gathering and knowledge-sharing processes described in this guide.
How to Better Support Social Change Innovators
Social change innovation is challenging. But there’s a substantial body of research about the resources, conditions, and environments that promote individual innovators’ work. This primer reviews a best-selling volume on innovation, and suggests how the author’s lessons about business and industry can be applied to support social change innovation more effectively.
Signing on to an Amicus Brief? Use it to Support Your Advocacy Goals
Community organizations can be critical to the success of an amicus curiae brief at the US Supreme Court because their insights about how a case impacts real people is unparalleled. CBOs that participate in amicus briefs can leverage participation to make progress on related advocacy goals. This resource explains how this works and how its impact can be measured.
Evaluating “Flexible Funding” or “Rapid Response” Grantmaking
More social change philanthropies are considering “flexible funding” or “rapid response” grants to help nonprofits meet unforeseen community needs. This resource describes an innovative evaluation approach that Fine Gauge Strategy developed to get a philanthropy the timely analysis it needed to assess whether its flexible funding grants were supporting the philanthropy’s strategic goals.
Horizon Scanning to Enhance Resiliency of Your Strategy Plan
Strategic / scenario plans are essential organizational tools, but they can be too static for deeply chaotic times. “Foresight” approaches such as “Horizon Scanning” can build from your strategic plan and help your team stay in front of the curve. Learn more:
Defensive Advocacy: Using Concepts in Communications and Planning
When supporters think of advocacy “impact,” they generally think of proactive “wins.” A negative policy environment requires different ways to think about advocacy impact. Here’s expert advice on communicating the value of defensive advocacy.
Communicate Your Value with a Powerful Case Statement
A case statement makes the connection between your organization’s unique value and a funder’s mission and goals. (Use it to communicate with other supporters, too.) This document guides you through drafting a concise and powerful case statement.
Aligned MLE: A New Way to Measure Social Change Impact
What if measurement, learning and evaluation were highly responsive to what the program and organization needed to know? We believe this is possible. We’re calling it “Aligned MLE.”
Six Tips for Launching a Consultant Project Successfully
A good launch sets the tone for a successful consultant project. I designed these pointers with my typical projects in mind, but most will be broadly relevant for organizational development or strategy consultancies.
Sample Outcomes for Advocacy & Organizing-Mobilizing
How do you know that your organizing or advocacy work is making headway toward your policy change goals? This resource lists short-term and medium-term benchmarks for measuring your progress.
Questions to Ask your Communications Consultant
Have you surveyed your community about their public policy preferences, or developed a needs assessment? A report based on this analysis can position your group as a go-to expert with media, policymakers, and colleagues in the field. But many base-building or community organizations don’t have enough communications staffing in-house to ensure a robust launch of a findings report. If you’re securing outside help to maximize your report’s impact, this tool can help.
Power Building Activities and Outcomes
When we say that communities are “building power,” what does that mean? What activities are they using? How can organizers and activists tell that they are making progress? This resource describes some common power building tactics, and outcomes that communities may achieve as a result. It also sites resources for those who want to learn more.
Collaboration Reflection Tool
Successful advocacy requires collaboration. But organizations have many demands on their limited “partnership” time. This is a simple tool for advocacy organizations to assess how well their current collaborations are serving their strategic goals, and to lay the groundwork for investigating new partnerships.
The RFP Decision Matrix
Consultants often secure assignments through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process. But creating a strong RFP response requires time and creative effort. How best to decide the cost/benefit of a potential RFP response? The RFP Decision Matrix is a tool to help consultants make this decision more confidently.
Learn More from Training Surveys: Try this Survey Model
For social change organizations, a good post-training survey can produce more information than simply “how much did you like this?” It can also help you know if your training is contributing to the change you’re trying to create. This resource is a template for improving your post-training surveys.
New to Measurement and Learning for Social Change? Start with this Simple Tool
Social change organizations that want to improve their work through measurement and learning can find learning activities difficult to fit into their schedules. This resource provides a tool for teams to effectively learn from their activities with only a modest time investment.
Write a Better Concept Paper: Or, What Your Concept Paper Can Learn From Movie Trailers
A concept paper is an “invitation” to prospective funders or allies to learn more about your project and partner with you in achieving its goals. A movie trailer is an invitation, too: a kind that gets a lot of attention. This brief guide to the elements of a strong concept paper uses movie trailers to show how you can make your paper more compelling.
Measurement & Evaluation Approaches for Impact Litigation
Impact litigation can support policy change work in the legislature and city hall, in addition to making gains in the courtroom. This short primer discusses measurement of litigation-related advocacy outcomes and how litigation is conducted.
Links to external resources
Tools and resources for advocacy-policy change evaluation and measurement that I regularly use and recommend to others
Writing and publishing a report or other work product? An elegant straightforward guide for writing strong copy and working with your publication designer for results that people want to read.
Cutting Edge Design (2025) Guide to Planning, Writing and Producing Publications for the Real World
A foundational paper by TCC Group on the key capacities that effective advocacy organizations need, and how to measure them.
How do you define an organizing or advocacy “field,” and how do you measure it? An important resource by Dr. Jewlya Lynn, published by Center for Evaluation Innovation.
Center for Evaluation Innovation (2014). Assessing and Evaluating Change in Advocacy Fields.
Power is the essential foundation of advocacy-policy change. This rubric by Innovation Network succinctly describes ways to assess power-building by social movements.
Innovation Network, Social Movement Theory of Change and Power Indicators
Drafting an RFP for evaluation services? This Public Profit guide is essential reading.
