Lessons Learned from Creating a Performance Culture in a School Reform Nonprofit

1. Lessons Learned from Creating a Performance Culture in a School Reform Nonprofit Eric Barela, Ph.D. Partners in School Innovation 2011 American Evaluation Association Conference, Anaheim, CA

2. Partners in School Innovation • SF Bay Area-based nonprofit founded in 1993 • 30 employees • Annual operating budget of approx $3.5 million • PartnersSI supports schools in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose

3. Mission To enable public schools in high-poverty Bay Area communities—serving students of color and English Learners—to achieve educational equity through school-based reform • We do this by providing coaching support to existing teachers and school leaders around effective data use.

4. Dilemma • In 2008, PartnersSI was at a crossroads: • Lack of clarity around program • Culture of “private practice” with respect to program implementation • Intermittent tracking of student achievement results • Uneven staff accountability, often perceived to be subjective • Solution: • Create Organizational Performance dept. • Work toward incorporating a performance culture

5. Performance Culture “An organization with a performance culture is focused on mission effectiveness (doing well what it says it does) and mission fulfillment (doing it well for as many as it reasonably—maybe even unreasonably—can).” (Morino, 2011)

6. PartnersSI Two-pronged Approach • Design and Implementation • Performance measurement strategy • Management roles and responsibilities • Metrics, tools and data system • Reporting and communication of results Organizational Performance Department

7. Design and Implementation • Performance Measurement Strategy • Evaluate and report on program AND organizational effectiveness • Develop and manage measurement tools/processes • Inform relevant external communities of PartnersSI work • As an org matures, performance measurement processes should evolve into evaluation processes (Forti, 2011; Price, 2011) • Management Roles/Responsibilities • Dedicated Organizational Performance dept. • Defined management roles around monitoring and managing individual performance

8. Design and Implementation • Metrics/Tools/Data System • Appropriate, relevant, timely data collection (Collecting the right data to measure impact in the right ways at the right time) • Data collection across all org departments • Program implementation • Student achievement • Fundraising capacity • Effectiveness of internal business, HR processes • Usefulness of Organizational Performance reports

9. Design and Implementation • Reporting and Communication of Results • Relevant, timely, consistent reporting • Transparency around formative and summative data • However, offering an increased amount of data without systems to support data use won’t improve performance (Price, 2011).

10. PartnersSI Two-pronged Approach • Design and Implementation • Performance measurement strategy • Management roles and responsibilities • Metrics, tools and data system • Reporting and communication of results Organizational Performance Department • Change Management • Theory of change • Learning from results • Culture of learning at all levels • Staff engagement and buy-in

11. Theory of Change

12. Change Management • Learning from Results • Relevant, timely, consistent reporting AND analysis/interpretation assistance • Culture of Learning at All Levels • Field staff • Managers • Cabinet • Board of Directors • Staff engagement and buy-in • Consistency • Transparency • Relevance • Evidence of learning from results

13. Elements of Performance Culture • Mission Measurement (2008) • Internal drivers for measuring performance • Leadership values performance data • Outcomes-driven strategy (“whatever it takes to achieve our objectives…”) • Continuous improvement via reflection and adjustment • 20% of nonprofits operate this way, PartnersSI is striving to be in that 20%!

14. For copies of my slides or for additional information: ebarela@partnersinschools.org