Spreadsheet Superheroes

If you could have one superhuman power, what would it be? If I could pick one super power, I'd want the ability to quantify anything. Instantly. Stop for a minute and think about how useful the power of quantification would be in your real life:

• You go to the car dealership and say, "Bottom line: this purchase will only improve my quality of life if I can get it for less than $14,000. Can you do that or not?" You walk away with a great deal.
• After trying three different brands of laundry detergent, you can immediately tell which one is the most effective.
• You always precisely calculate the number of jelly beans in the giant jar.

Think about how powerful you'd be if you could easily quantify intangibles. Your decision-making track record would be amazing. Your negotiation skills would be primo. You'd be a superhero (and you could PROVE it, too).

Let me give you a glimpse into the mind of a foundation evaluator. When we funders start asking for "impact" and "outcomes" and "measurable results," we're not just looking to put our grantees through the exercise of doing evaluation. We're not even looking for grantees to prove that they're superheroes. We already know that our grantees are superheroes. They save lives day in and day out. Funders ask for outcomes because we want to see our grantees tap into the power of quantification – to put on their capes and show the world what they can do.

Clearly, none of us have superhuman powers of quantification. In real life, evaluation isn't so easy. It takes time, energy, and resources to collect and analyze data. Sometimes I see people who put so much energy into getting the outcomes that they don't have much left over to look at them. That's when quantification becomes more like kryptonite than a super power – it drains rather than energizes. And that worries me because the power of quantification doesn't come from calculating outcomes. It comes from using them.

All of this begs the question: how can we better support the use of outcomes in our community? On June 14th, our 2011 Distinguished Evaluator, Dr. Ann McCracken, is going to help us tackle that question and give us some hints on how we can tap into the power of evaluation. Then, we'll get a sneak peek at Saving Philanthropy, a PBS documentary that explores how some nonprofits developed and use their powers of quantification. Finally, we'll spend the afternoon talking about how our community can work together to build evaluation capacity so that we all walk away with some ideas for making our own work more powerful. It's going to be an exciting day, and I hope you can make it.

To find out more about the workshop (or to register), check out the Health Foundation's website. If you'd like to know more about Saving Philanthropy, you can go to www.savingphilanthropy.org.