You Get What You Measure®
Are you interested in harnessing the knowledge, ideas, and energy of the people in your organization to work productively toward a common goal? Are you looking for better ways to measure the impact of your work? Would you like to be able to tell a compelling story about your work to the public, your board of directors, or a funder? If you answered YES to any of these questions, consider You Get What You Measure®. You can help to ensure the vitality and resilience of your community or organization by developing your capacity to determine where you are and focus your energy on actions that will take you where you want to go. The Power of Measurement Everyone likes to see progress. Measurement provides tangible evidence of progress which, in turn, motivates you to keep at it. This is true whether your goal is physical fitness or fund raising, environmental health or literacy. Measurement helps you know where you are now, and get to where you want to be. Choosing what you will measure and how you will measure it is a creative process. You can use this process to test your assumptions about the way the world works, to reframe what is important to you, and to create a new focus for your energies. What you measure is what you get. For example, there are many ways of measuring employment. You might focus on the number of people in your community who have employment that meets their needs; or you might simply count the number of jobs created and lost. If you focus on the number of jobs, you may lose sight of important considerations: What kind of jobs? Jobs for whom? At what cost to the community? If you want to shift and broaden your focus, you need to create new and different measures of progress toward your goals.
You Get What You Measure® Fosters learning, discovery, and creativity!
You Get What You Measure® is value driven. The process guides participants in creating a joint vision and generates energy to achieve it. You Get What You Measure® directs action toward specific, measurable goals. You Get What You Measure® encourages participants to identify the information they need, and find creative ways to get it. You will generate new information, create new patterns of information flow, and build new relationships. You Get What You Measure® supports continuous reflection and learning. The process provides frequent opportunities to check back, consider progress, and make mid-course adjustments.
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You Get What You Measure® encourages you to identify and check your assumptions about how the world works. In addition, You Get What You Measure® Supports inclusiveness and encourages new partnerships Fosters independent actions to achieve shared goals Is self-customizing. The process comes alive as participants supply their own experiences, values, and ideas. Saves you money and time by incorporating planning and evaluation in one process You Get What You Measure® is now available in 4 convenient formats: A Taste of Measurement Three-hour overview of the measurement process for those who want exposure to an alrternative to strategic planning that works! Introduction to You Get What You Measure® A full-day immersion in the measurement process, suitable for conferences and introductory in-house training, will give participants familiarity with measurement vocabulary and the complete process. You Get What You Measure® In Use A two-day guided intervention for participants to learn the measurement process by applying it to issues central to their missions. this applications work, led by YWA’s experienced guides, is appropriate in an organizational development setting or anywhere stakeholders come together to address common concerns. Includes guidance for implementation and follow-through. Becoming A Measurement Guide A four-day process for professionals who already possess basic facilitation skills. Those who successfully complete this course will be licensed to deliver You Get What You Measure® to their clients.
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A Taste of Measurement
This 3-hour overview of You Get What You Measure® is for those who want exposure to an alternative interactive planning process that works. Includes: • The power of measurement in everyday life and work • Introduction to the measurement process • Measurement vocabulary • Identifying goals • Including stakeholders Cost Materials: $300 plus $10 per participant Facilitation: $500 for up to 25 participants An additional facilitator is recommended for every 25 participants at a cost of $300 per facilitator Introduction to You Get What You Measure® A full-day immersion in the measurement process suitable for conferences and introductory in-house training. Includes: • The power of measurement in everyday life and work • Introduction to the measurement process • Measurement vocabulary • Identifying goals • Including stakeholders PLUS • Understanding indicators • Analyzing indicators in a systems context • Examining key assumptions • Desigining measures • Planning for measurement • Using the results of measurement • Getting to action Cost Materials: $ 500 plus $20 per participant Facilitation: $1200 for up to 25 people An additional facilitator is recommended for every 25 participants at a cost of $800 per facilitator You Get What You Measure® In Use This two-day training allows community members, staff, and/or employees of organizations, businesses, and government to learn the measurement process while applying it to issues central to their missions. Appropriate in an organizational
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development setting or whereever stakeholders come together to address common concerns, the sessions may be delivered back-to-back or spread out over time. Day One • The power of measurement in everyday life and work • Overview of the measurement process • Measurement vocabulary • Identifying goals • Involving stakeholders • Skilled inquiry & skilled listening • Understanding indicators • Analyzing indicators in a systems context Day Two • Examining key assumptions • Designing measures • Connecting goals, indicators, and measures • Planning for measurement • Using the results of measurement • Getting to action Cost Materials: $ 700 plus $25 per participant Facilitation: $2400 for up to 25 people An additional facilitator is recommended for every 25 participants at a cost of $1600 per facilitator Cost per participant: $149 with 25 participants Ongoing mentoring and/or coaching for those who complete You Get What You Measure® In Use is available at a rate of $90 per hour.
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Becoming A Measurement Guide Becoming A Measurement Guide is designed for professionals who already have basic facilitation skills and experience. Those who successfully complete this three-day course will be licensed to deliver You Get What You Measure® to their clients. Becoming A Measurement Guide may be scheduled for individual guides-intraining or for groups of prospective guides and includes the following: • Creating a learning community • The power of measurement in everyday life & work • Overview of the measurement process • Measurement vocabulary • Identifying goals • Involving stakeholders • Skilled inquiry & Skilled listening • Understanding indicators • Developing indicators of sustainability • Introduction to systems thinking • Analyzing indicators in a systems context • Examining key assumptions • Designing measures • Connecting goals, indicators, and measures • Planning for measurement • Using the results of measurement • Getting to action Following the first three days of training, guides-in-training will arrange to deliver You Get What You Measure® on a trial basis to a client group of their choice. Our staff will observe, mentor, coach, and evaluate the trainer during a minimum of two days of practice delivery. Practice sessions will also be evaluated by participants. Based upon evaluations by staff and practice training participants, measurement guides can be certified to deliver You Get What You Measure® under contract with Yellow Wood Associates. Only guides trained and certified by Yellow Wood Associates have the legal right to deliver You Get What You Measure® or use any part of the You Get What You Measure® process in their work. Cost $2,000 per guide-in training (Group rates are available. Please inquire.) Materials for practice training: $500 plus $20 per participant Ongoing mentoring and/or coaching for measurement guides who complete this training is available at a rate of $90 per hour.
What clients say about You Get What You Measure®
“The You Get What You Measure® training will enable me to facilitate planning among a much broader range of community groups than before. It is simple,
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straightforward, and builds evaluation and learning right into the process.” Kerstin
Gorham, Community Liaison, Northwest Area Foundation “The You Get What You Measure® process helped to clarify our organization’s
process and thinking about our next phase and it presented some concrete ideas about how we might accomplish that step. Great stuff from a conceptual and practical standpoint! Thanks!” Stacy Van Gorp, Project Director, Opportunity Works “I am very pleased with the You Get What You Measure® process, which will work just as well with a grassroots group with little or no planning experience as it does with an organization with a sophisticated understanding of systems thinking. I would encourage anyone who uses planning and evaluation in their work to get this training.” Karen Affeld, Director of Grants Planning and Administration, Rural Action, Inc. “What I love about You Get What You Measure® is how it initially builds on people’s personal passions and interests and then very subtly helps them see where their energy can best be spent to get what they want.” Sunny (Linda) Walker, Principal, SunWalker Enterprises About Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. has specialized in rural community economic development and capacity building since 1985. Our firm designs and delivers customized training in participatory measurement approaches to community groups, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and service providers in rural communities. Yellow Wood Associates has provided measurement training services to the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Missouri Departments of Mental Health, Health, and Economic Development; Rural Action of Ohio; the Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community Learning Initiative of the University of Tennessee; the State of Vermont’s Cyprian Training Center; and the Massachusetts Rural Development Council, among others. If you would like more information about You Get What You Measure® or other training opportunities, please contact us: www.yellowwood.org; 802-524-6141 phone; 802-524-6604 (fax); 228 North Main Street, St. Albans, VT 05478.
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