Webinar
Original Air Date - September 22, from 1 - 2 p.m. CT
Practitioners, funders, and researchers all want to see evidence that their programs make a difference. But too often, funders want evidence practitioners don't have, researchers develop evidence practitioners can't use, and program participants are excluded from conversations about how their data is being used. This webinar will discuss how nonprofits can improve the use evidence to strengthen their programs and increase their community impact.
Project Evident’s approach to strategic evidence building places nonprofit practitioners in the driver’s seat, and embeds continuous data use, learning, and evaluation at the core of their operations. Presenters believe that data and evidence should not be used primarily for reporting and accountability, but rather as organizational assets that guide decisions, inform strategic planning, and help leaders better understand and meet the needs of their communities.
This year has put a stark spotlight on the inequities in health, housing, education, and economic safety in our country, which will continue to grow in the absence of effective solutions with demonstrable evidence of outcomes. It has also revealed the importance of strong data and evidence in understanding and responding to the needs of under-served communities.
In this conversation, we’ll discuss how practitioners can use data and evidence to shape and adapt their work to meet new and growing needs in their communities. Additionally, we’ll discuss how organizations can more systematically incorporate the voices of program participants throughout the evidence-building process in order to achieve more equitable outcomes.
Project Evident
Learn more about Project Evident and its work:
Performance Excellence APEX
This webinar is presented by the Performance Excellence Alliance Peer Exchange (APEX) group, which is open to all staff at Alliance member organizations. Join the group by logging in and updating your profile. Select monthly webinars are available to nonmembers; previous presentations include Creating a Culture of Performance Excellence.
Performance excellence is also part of the Commitments of High-Impact Nonprofit Organizations, such as the focus on Measuring that Matters, Co-Creating with Community, and Engaging All Voices. Consider if your organization can benefit from the Commitments Assessment Tool and jump start your organizational impact
Takeaways:
Why practitioners should be at the center of evidence building, partnering with funders and researchers to develop and use evidence continuously to support learning and innovation
How practitioners can use data collected by their organizations and evidence from the field to shape and adapt their work to meet the emerging needs of their communities
How organizations can more intentionally integrate equity and justice into evidence-building practices to drive action towards equitable outcomes for the communities they serve
Who Should Participate:
Chief executives
Executives
Performance excellence leaders
Evaluators and researchers
Staff with responsibility for equity, diversity, and inclusion
Presenter(s)
Sara Peters
Managing Director of Policy and Evidence-Based Funding
Project Evident
Sara Peters is passionate about promoting impactful programs and policies that strengthen communities. Previously, she served as the director of social innovation at the Sorenson Impact Center, where she led the Center’s Pay for Success practice and social impact finance portfolio. She has also served as a policy consultant to several nonprofits that provide educational programming and supports to underserved children.
Peters holds a bachelor’s in politics from Princeton University and a master’s in public policy from the University of Cambridge. She also serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Center for Community Development Investments’ Advisory Council and the Board of Directors of Capita, an ideas lab working to ensure that all young children and their families flourish.
Farhana Hossain
Senior Evidence Advisor
Project Evident
Farhana Hossain brings expertise in qualitative and quantitative research, data visualization, information design, and communications. Previously, she served as a research associate for MDRC for seven years, where she led mixed-method implementation research for the evaluations of youth and workforce development programs and developed communications strategies and products to educate public and private stakeholders about evidence-based policies and practices.
Prior to MDRC, Hossain was a visual journalist for The Washington Post and The New York Times for more than a decade, where she oversaw the development of data visualizations to inform politics and policy coverage.
Hossain holds a master’s in public and nonprofit management and policy from New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.