Issue #17

Weekly evaluation inspiration for...

Non-profits who DARE

Hi! I'm Allison and I use strengths-based strategies to help non-profit organizations learn. I believe that learning about our work is the fastest way to improve our programs and our communities.

I'm a big fan of strengths-based approaches - to data collection, reporting, and just general human interactions. This includes parenting. We usually try to remember going around the dinner table and asking what the best part of our day was.

My youngest, who will be two this month, always says "Miss Stephanie". She's his old teacher and apparently just walking by her room and saying hi makes his day. The rest of us can usually come up with something that made our day a little brighter, and it leads to conversations about what we liked about it, which helps me understand my kids preferences and desires a bit better.

The other thing it helps me do, is think about how we can do more of the things they mention. I use this tool when I'm working with organizations, too. So often, in surveys and focus groups and other data collection opportunities, we focus on gaps or what isn't working.

I sometimes find that organizations are resistant to focusing on strengths. But when we know what we're great at, we can think about what's holding us back from doing more of that.

It gives us an opportunity to celebrate what we're doing well. This helps us feel good about our work and increases motivation.

It also gives us a unique lens to question some of the things that aren't mentioned. Do we do them because we have to? Is there a different way to do them? Or is it something we can stop doing altogether, reclaiming some of our capacity to focus on our best work.

I'm celebrating recently publishing my first journal article using collaborative autoethnography to talk about evaluator education, role play, and cognitive complexity. Take a look!​