Resources I’ve developed
Tools and resources that I have developed for measurement and evaluation of community organizing and policy-change advocacy
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.
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
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.
