Beyond Compliance: Informative Reporting

1. 2008 AmeriCorps Conference Beyond Compliance: Informative Reporting

2. Find Out How You’re Doing Identify reporting challenges Discuss informative reporting Review sample report Objectives

3. Track progress to achieve your results Identify and address problems Determine need to make changes Determine effective activities & processes before committing resources to sustain Why Do Reporting?

4. How do you use your reports?

5. What happens from the very beginning of a project determines its eventual impact, long before a final report is issued

6. Program Stages and Reporting Progress

7. Initial Review-1st Period Are components in place and started? Talk about: Selection, training, placement for members, staff, & site. Amount & findings of pre-service data [& outcomes if known]. Beneficiary selection. Member enrollment. Partners. Problems to address. Is it starting as planned?

8. Implementation Review2nd & 3rd period Are things being implemented as designed? Talk about progress/changes in: activities, data collection & analysis [pre, mid , post], outcome benchmarks, staffing, member configuration, beneficiaries, training [member/staff/site], sites & partner commitments. Outcomes should be reported in this stage. Your plan for challenges or barriers.

9. Results Review4th period How did it all turn out? Report final results [outputs & outcomes] and overall program findings. Address the exact target. Talk about partner meeting to discuss outcomes & continuous improvement strategies.

10. How’s reporting going for your program?

11. Typical Reporting Problems • Faulty Logic on PMW • Unclear/unfocused results • Activity doesn’t produce result • Targets not specific [amount of change] • Measures inappropriate

12. Typical Reporting Problems • Data Issues • Inadequate data collected • No baseline data—or too late • No data collected or not enough • Inappropriate Instrument • Data doesn’t address Target

13. Typical Reporting Problems • What’s Actually Reported • Processes not assessed to avoid problems • Data not analyzed &/or summarized • No discussion/breakout of data [pre] • Data dump—too much to decipher • Results/findings not summarized • Not concise, unfocused—no analysis

14. What Makes a Strong Report? • Conveys the status of the program • Reflects program planning and refining • Based on a strong PMW--logic model • Clear & focused on relevant information • Paints a picture—says something • Reflects a plan for data collection & reporting

15. A Data Plan Establishes: • Due dates and timelines • Adequate and sufficient data collection • Timely data collection • Who will aggregate & analyze data & when • You have aPlan! Data collection and analysis has to be seen as important to program operation

16. Areas of Concern • Identify a highneedtargetgroup. Who really benefits from your service? • How much service is needed to achieve the results? What’s the dosage? • Importance of periodic assessment • Importance of being curious about the impact of your services • Develop a Data Plan

17. Losing the purpose of the report. It’s not just a funding requirement Uninformative reporting about the process Report doesn’t really reflect the program Weak/no findings about results Weak information about outcomes Reporting Challenges to Avoid

18. Small Group • Review the sample report • Compare your report to the sample • Discuss how you might improve reporting • Do you have a data plan? • Are reports informative to you? • Do you report on program promises? • Be prepared to report to large group

19. What gets measured gets done. If you can demonstrate results, you can win public support If you can’t recognize what’s not working, you can’t correct it. SOURCE: Osborne & Gaebler: Results Oriented Government, 1992. Assessment Sayings

20. Don’t delay analysis of pre-service data Compare actual to anticipated Discuss comparison. What does it mean? Interpret results so you know what to do Be sure you can really get the data Results should not be a surprise. Say something! Tips