Organizations are often asked to demonstrate their impact. Funders want to understand results, community partners want to see progress, and leadership teams need confidence that resources are being used effectively. For many organizations, this makes measurement feel like an obligation, something that’s only completed for grant applications, annual reports, or

Many organizations work toward the same goals: supporting individuals, strengthening communities, and facilitating access to essential services. However, the challenges they address are often too large for any single entity to solve alone. A nonprofit may understand the needs of the people it serves. A school system may have insight

Every organization has a story to tell about the work it does, the people it serves, and the changes it hopes to create. The challenge is making sure your story is supported by meaningful information that demonstrates progress and impact. To build an effective outcome measurement framework, organizations must first

Organizations today have access to more data than ever before. Program participation numbers, attendance records, demographic information, surveys, assessments, and case notes can all provide valuable insight into the people and communities being served. However, collecting information is only the beginning. The real challenge is understanding what that data means,

As one of the final stages of the partnership-building phase of a data-sharing project, you must pick which of your partner organizations will be the “Data Steward” agency. We’re not talking about who the decision-maker is, or who the public face is. We’re talking about who will roll up their

If you’ve been following my blog to date, you can see the high level of forethought, work, and skill that go into putting together a multi-organizational data-sharing community partnership. I have seen talented, influential community leaders navigate these waters without fear, overcoming all obstacles in their path—only to come up

In my last blog entry, I gave general advice about writing a Data Sharing Agreement (DSA), using the Quad Cities Data Warehouse project’s Standards of Operation and Practice (SOPO) as an example. I mentioned that you can divide DSA components into two categories: things you want to be hard-wired into

Thoroughness counts for a lot in my world. From product development to quality assurance, rollouts to system upgrades, we do the small things well so the big things can function reliably. What I’ve found in my career, and especially during my time at nFocus Solutions™, is that an emphasis on

You see it here and there in the software business – the assumption that every challenge and every objective will automatically work within a single tool’s framework. It’s basically “universal fit” thinking that our teams try to avoid through collective discussion and understanding.

Overcomplicated solutions are common these days, especially in the software profession. For some reason, computer technology tends to lead people towards convoluted tools when straightforward options are either available or designable.

We base the foundation of all product development on an understanding of what our clients actually need. What we’ve learned and observed for ourselves is that there is a common demand for real-time data access, which is especially important at the executive level, as organization leaders often need quick performance

A new software tool is on the way from nFocus Solutions – an executive-focused attendance/reporting module we call TraxFacts which is great news for our clients, especially their leadership. It’s also a reminder to me of what I appreciate so much about this line of work. Many of us who