(Notes from a session delivered by Rebecca Jones of Brampton Library. These are notes I am mostly recording for my personal recollection, they might not be coherent to others.)
- Key questions: What? So what? Now what?
- It is good for outsiders to look at your data - they might bring a different perspective - this is a great role for the board
- You need to understand the perspectives of others if you want to convince / influence them
- Libraries don't tend to have a culture of assessment
- most measures convey past performance
- Our measures don't align with interests of decision-makers (perspective)
- Many partnerships do not include outcome goals or joint measures
"Good to Great" (recommended book)
- Identifying and illustrating value depends on conversations with your stakeholders
- The first conversation shouldn't be the one where success is presented
- More isn't necessarily better - more can cloud the issue and the message
Successful organizations:
- Clarity of purpose
- Understand the external community they work in
- Use performance measure that fit the culture
Surveys are good for evaluating / measuring outcomes and impacts [different from the way we usually think of them in AB - here they are often used as a general needs assessment/service planning, but she's saying they are good for backward-looking, targeted evaluation of a specific service)
- Ask councillors, etc.: what constitutes personal success for them? "What would a successful term look like for you?"
- If you can meet emotional / value needs (as opposed to the merely practical...)
Seven measurement areas [I think this is from ALA's Project Outcome]:
- Civic / community engagement
- Digital inclusion
- Early childhood literacy
- Economic development
- Education / lifelong learning
- Job skills
- Summer reading
No comments:
Post a Comment