I must go to Nature disarmed of perspective and stretch myself like a large transparent canvas upon her in the hope that, my submission being perfect, the imprint of a beautiful and useful truth would be taken. ~ John Updike, The Centaur December 21, 2012 marked the completion of the Great Mayan Cycle. A central [...]
To What End?: Evaluative Practice 5: Be Systematic Not Episodic
September 5, 2012 By
This is the last in series of 6 posts were we explore 5 Evaluative Practices, that if adopted put you on the path to moving beyond conducting evaluations but to fully embrace a focus on impact as a means to guide your decisions and actions. Our last post highlighted “differentiating what you want to know, [...]
To What End?: Evaluative Practice 4 – Differentiate What you Need To Know, Want to Know and Can Know
May 15, 2012 By
This is the 5th in a series of posts were we explore one of 5 Evaluative Practices, that if adopted put you on the path to being evaluative. The last post highlighted how important it is to Leverage and Link Your Efforts so you are designing efforts that maximize resources and have the greatest likelihood [...]
To What End?: Evaluative Practice 3– Leverage and Link Your Efforts
April 17, 2012 By
This is the 4th in a series of posts were we explore one of 5 Evaluative Practices that if adopted put you on the path to being evaluative. The last post highlighted how important it is to Differentiate What You Know from the Difference You Make and how that can open up a set of [...]
To What End?: Evaluation Practice 2 – Don’t Confuse What You Do with the Difference You Make
April 9, 2012 By
“Gone are the days when corporate donors wrote checks for the ‘nice’ programs or the ‘cute’ girls,” according to the CEO and chief fundraiser for Girls Inc. of the Capital Region.Donors ask for financials and business plans, and “they want to know how you’re changing the communities in which you exist.“ Rick Cohen, NonProfit Quarterly. August 27, [...]
To What End?: Evaluative Practice 1: Know Thyself
February 22, 2012 By
Our last post outlined the importance of adopting 5 Evaluative Practices . Two key take-aways from that post are that the adoption of an evaluative mindset: 1) supports organizations ‘ in more intentionally aligning efforts and decisions in support of its mission in a demonstrable way, and 2) that it’s the purview and responsibility of [...]
To What End?: Five Evaluative Practices
February 1, 2012 By
For the past five years, jdcPartnerships has more deeply and intentionally integrated an evaluative mindset to our work with our client partners. We state as such in our philosophy “Evaluative inquiry is a process and tool for informing and strengthening decisions, enhancing learning and increasing effectiveness (See full set of values and philosophy). That is not [...]
To What End?: The Promise of 2012
January 23, 2012 By
2012 is a year caught between the promise of the future and the endeavors of the past. In many cultures, 2012 marks the end of world. It’s also a leap year, providing us with an additional 24 hours and conflicting tales of good luck and bad. What would happen if we put a positive spin [...]