You're launching a new program for your non-profit. How will you assess its impact on the target population?

Currently, I am developing a volunteer pilot project to enable seniors to remain at home and independent longer. Defining Goals: What do we want to achieve? (specific program examples) Enhance independence: We want more seniors to live independently at home. For example, we could focus on providing home modifications like installing grab bars and ramps. Improve quality of life: Ensure seniors have access to healthcare, social services, and community support. We might offer in-home medical visits and social activities to keep them engaged. Safety and well-being: Reduce accidents or health issues. This could involve providing fall prevention education and regular health check-ups.

I have had success defining goals with participants, alumni and front line program staff. Often management can be overly optimistic on goals because of pressure from funders or other leaders. Activating the voice of those who are meant to benefit as well as those responsible for the day to day work can give managers new insights and build in important feedback loops and trust.

Clearly articulate the program’s intended outcomes. What positive changes do you aim to achieve? For example, if your program provides job training, your goal might be to increase employment rates among participants.

The goals should be developed and articulated with stakeholders. What do the clients, staff, community, funders, etc. expect to see the program achieve? What evidence is important for them to see? Are you working to move the needle for a specific population? What baseline data is available or can you collect? Assessments are the most powerful when the folks impacted directly and indirectly are involved in the process.

In my prespective, the successful of any non-profit program depends on identifying the issues and or gaps that were collected from the targeted people through conducting the participatory need assessment and should be addressed accordingly taking into consideration placing the age, diversity and gender approach to ensure engaging as well as consulting the different segments of society in programs' design to meet their expectations as one of the key stakeholders ( in addition to other concerned stakeholders) which will greately and positevly affect the outcome/ impact of any program.

Collect relevant information. Use methods like surveys, interviews, focus groups, and data analysis. Quantitative data for example participant attendance &/or financials and qualitative data for example beneficiary stories etc. provide a wholistic point of view.

In development for the seniors volunteer pilot project, we are gathering data not only because the funder is requesting it but to understand our starting point and to measure progress/success. This includes: Surveys and interviews: Before we start, we could survey and interview seniors to learn about their current living conditions and needs. Health metrics: Record physical and mental health data. We could track things like the number of doctor visits, medication usage, and mental health assessments. Service usage: Track how often seniors use healthcare and social services. We might look at the frequency of home care visits or attendance at community events.

Mixed methods are important! Surveys alone won't give you a full picture of the impact your program is having. Add in focus groups, interviews, and/or document reviews (if relevant). Depending on your target audience, you can get creative and do listening circles, cafe chats, etc. Make it fun and engaging for your participants - and incentivize them! Many populations nonprofits serve are under-resourced. Be sure to provide an appropriate incentive such as a grocery gift card, and when possible - offer food and childcare. This will help ensure you are hearing from a more diverse population.

Do a comparative analysis of any available baseline data (before program implementation) with post-program data. Look for trends, patterns, and shifts. Did participants experience positive changes? Did the program contribute to those changes?

We’ll want to see how things change once our program is up and running: Compare metrics: Look at differences in health, independence, and quality of life before and after. For instance, we could compare survey results from before the program started to six months in. Statistical analysis: Use tools to see if changes are significant. This could involve running statistical tests to check if improvements in health metrics are due to our program. Qualitative insights: Listen to feedback from seniors and caregivers. We could gather stories and testimonials to understand the program's impact from their perspective.

Your statistical analysis can be simple or complex, depending on your assessment goals. Correlative and causal analysis may not be the best place to start if you are new to assessment. If you designed your surveys and data collection tools well, you can ask folks to describe the change for you! Asking questions such as "What skills did you learn while in this program?" can be all the "cause" you need.

Feedback is important. You want to assess the change occurring as a result of your program, but you also need to know if your target population is satisfied with their experience, if they have any challenges with access, etc. You can build feedback loops into your services through quick post-service surveys (QR codes and automated emails are your friends!) or through your assessment tools. Often, when folks are more satisfied its because the quality of the service they are engaging with is high, staff and volunteers are friendly and helpful, and accessing the service or program is easy, clear, and accessible.

Continuously seek feedback from participants, staff, and stakeholders. Adjust the program based on insights. Regularly assess whether you’re meeting your goals.

Communicate impact transparently. Share success stories, data, and lessons learned with your community, funders, and other stakeholders. Transparency builds trust.

Sharing results is the fun part! This is where you get to showcase your efforts in transparency - and hopefully impact. If your program or service isn't meeting the desired goals, you can share what plans you have to improve. Don't let reports sit on your Executive Director's desk. Publish it on your website, share data nuggets with your clients, funders, and the community at large. You may even want to write a press release, blog, or create a video to share on social media. Get clients involved in sharing, too! I love when I see client testimonials mixed with stats.

Looking to the future, we need to plan for long-term success: Scalability: Can we expand the program to reach more seniors? For example, if we’re successful in one neighborhood, we might roll out the program city-wide. Sustainability: Develop long-term plans, like securing ongoing funding through grants or partnerships. Innovation: Stay open to new ideas, like introducing new assistive technologies to enhance support.

Some more aspects to consider: - Whether the change you are measuring can be attributed to your program, or whether it’s your contribution + a number of other factors. It’s okay to go for contribution vs attribution analysis. Especially in a complex environment that requires a great deal of collaboration. - Think about evidence uptake. Besides just sharing, what will you do else with the findings?

I believe in studying leading indicators of change (LIoC). A well articulated Theory of Change (I can hear the chorus of "ughs" already, but hear me out) can help with that. It can also help to get the entire team seeing their input in the overall action plan. Identify initial areas where you expect change that will indicate that you are on the right track (LIoC), instead of waiting until the very end to assess impact, you can make adjustments as you go--which will better enable you to meet your long term goals. The PDSA is a good model: Plan what you will do Do it Study it Act upon what you find - iterate Repeat This way you're continuously testing the ToC & imbedded assumptions, rather than years later when you can measure impact.

The target population are the people whose feedback and experience can be used as a benchmark for impact. It is important to engage them actively before, during and after the program. This will enable you to better design impactful programs and clearly identify the after effect on the people.

There are a few more things to keep in mind: Holistic approach: Consider mental health, social isolation, and financial security. We might offer mental health support groups and financial planning workshops. Cultural sensitivity: Make sure the program respects diverse backgrounds. This could mean providing services in multiple languages or being mindful of cultural preferences, or providing services to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Collaboration: Partner with other organizations, healthcare providers, and community groups to create a comprehensive support network. Advocacy: Use our findings to advocate for policy changes that support aging in place at the local and national levels.