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Using Benchmarks to Monitor Community Progress

Using Benchmarks to Monitor Community Progress. J. Norman Reid Office of Community Development nreid@rurdev.usda.gov. Why OCD Wants Benchmarks:. To monitor your progress To document the program’s successes. How can benchmarks be useful to you?. Keep a workplan

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Using Benchmarks to Monitor Community Progress

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  1. Using Benchmarks to Monitor Community Progress J. Norman Reid Office of Community Development nreid@rurdev.usda.gov

  2. Why OCD Wants Benchmarks: • To monitor your progress • To document the program’s successes

  3. How can benchmarks be useful to you? Keep a workplan Reporting to Board and public Keeping OCD off your back

  4. What Are Benchmarks? • Statements that define: • Your goals • Your starting point • Your target for accomplishment • How you will measure progress • They can also include: • Assignments of responsibility • Plans for resources • Timetables

  5. Did you ever think about using them to evaluate progress?

  6. What An Evaluation Can Do • Keep your plan accountable • Build confidence among partners • Show what works, what doesn’t • Keep public informed and supportive • Build enthusiasm, buy-in • Keep community on focus • Improve management

  7. Questions Your Evaluation Can Answer • Are you meeting your timetable? • Are vision and goals still right? • Do recent changes affect the plan? • Should the plan be changed? • Can you benefit from new options? • Can management be strengthened? • Can resources be used better?

  8. Key Steps in Your Evaluation • Look at your numbers • Get public input • Ask key questions

  9. Looking at the Numbers • Run reports from Benchmark Management System • What percent are complete? • What percent of target has been reached? • How does progress compare with the timetable? • How diverse are the resources used? • How well were EZ/EC grants leveraged?

  10. Publish a Scorecard • Report status by benchmark • Compare this year vs. last year • Compare your community vs. others • Show how plans have changed since last year • Show what’s new starting this year

  11. Get Public Input • Report on benchmark status and outcomes • Tell a “story” about your progress • Hold a ‘Festival of Renewal’ to revisit the plan • Collect community reactions, ideas • Look outside the community for new ideas, comparisons

  12. Ask Key Questions • How good is the plan? • How well is it being administered? • How do you compare with other communities? • How can the plan be improved? • Are you progressing toward sustainability?

  13. How Good is the Plan? • How has the community changed? • Has the plan caused these changes? • Have outside events caused changes? • How do changes affect strategic goals? • Do you need to change benchmarks? • Do you have the right targets? • What should you do next after the first goals have been achieved?

  14. Good Benchmarks are Important • Goals must be specific so you know when you meet them • Measures must reflect what you’re trying to achieve • E.g., • Poor--“Establish 3 programs” • Better--“Train 150 youth in business skills”

  15. Is it Well-Administered? • Are task forces overloaded? • How closely are benchmarks linked? • Is the community building on its successes? • Are you incorporating “best practices”? • How realistic, helpful are benchmarks? • Do benchmarks need revision? • How effective is public participation?

  16. How Can You Improve? • Make benchmarks meaningful • Ask leaders to explain slow progress • Apply lessons to other projects • Seek new ideas where progress is slow • Make leadership jobs conditional on progress • Publicize performance widely • Reward successes publicly

  17. How Do You Compare? • Are you using all the funding sources others are? • Are you progressing as well as others? • Are your benchmarks as well-written? • How does your staffing differ? • What “best practices” do others use? • What useful methods do others employ?

  18. First steps on the empowerment staircase Creating early successes Finding resources Turning the vision into concrete plans Creating a vision and strategy Building hope in a better future

  19. Next steps in building empowerment Sustainable development Building communitycapacity Leveraging non-Federal funds Revisingplans to meet changes Making projects sustainable

  20. Are You Moving Toward Sustainability? • Have your leadership and management skills progressed? • Are you recruiting and training new leaders? • How good is public participation? • Are volunteer opportunities being created and filled? • Should the strategy be changed to better meet the vision? • Will progress be sustainable after graduation?

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