Better Data, First Turn Outward Toward the Community

Guest post by Brian Gallagher, President and CEO of United Way Worldwide

I recently participated in the World Economic Forum. Conversations there increasingly center on the economic benefits of human success.

More and more companies understand that investing in the long-term health of a community is essential to driving bottom-line results. They see that their environment has changed and that the strategies they were using no longer match their goals.

This provides a good lesson for nonprofits as well. What if what we’re doing is also wrong? What if we’re not focused on the right issues? Importantly, does what we’re doing and how we’re doing it give us confidence that we can reach the larger, more sustainable goals we have for our communities?

I’d suggest that the answer is both yes and no. Traditional systems aren’t enough in this environment. We’ve made some progress, but like companies, we need to be bolder and find new approaches. I believe it will mean more collaborations, more focus on the issues, and more data-informed strategies.

United Ways and their partners are increasingly looking beyond traditional success indicators and using data to provide a more complete picture of the communities they serve. Quantitative data is only part of the solution. Building strategies that work requires answering many questions:

• What populations are most affected by the issue?

• What results will we commit to create?

• What are the real problems standing between the populations and the results?

• What are the evidence-based practices that best fit with the populations we serve and with the values and assets of our community?

• How will we know if what we’re doing is working?

Answering these questions must begin by turning outward and listening to the community. Too often, strategies are based on untested assumptions or on the experiences of just a select few. While well-intentioned, they may overlook key perspectives that only community residents can provide. Strategies that aren’t rooted in the realities of people’s lives may send you down a course that doesn’t contribute to a solution at all.

Finding better data has become gospel to United Way of Southern Cameron County in Brownsville, Texas. As they will tell you, “specificity matters.” They set out to address their troubling high school graduation rate. Many had asserted that migrancy, low socioeconomic status, limited English proficiency, and high incidences of disciplinary referrals in school were the key predictors of those most at-risk. They were wrong.

Encouraged by United Way, school officials examined records comparing on-time grads with those who were lagging behind. Migrancy? No correlation. Low socioeconomic status? No correlation. Limited English? No correlation? Disciplinary referrals? No correlation. Instead, the most accurate predictors for failure of these students were extended 8th grade absences, failing two or more sections within certain proficiency tests, and failing one or more 9th grade core courses.

With that knowledge, United Way and its partners could start implementing strategies for the real at-risk population. And results for those students followed. Attendance went up. Grades went up. And, last year, 60% of at-risk students received a positive credit for each of their core courses.

We know that data-based decision making works. New and better data not only allows for more effective local strategies, it provides greater opportunity to align our efforts at scale and genuinely move the needle on community issues. While conditions differ in every community, the data-driven approach employed by one provides a model and resource for others. Imagine the benefits of replicating Brownsville’s success everywhere.

Finally, you don’t have to be a statistician to pass along useful information. Everyone possesses their own unique understanding of their community. Seek local input, insist on inclusion, and co-own the strategies. Getting more people involved is the only way we will meet our goals and make certain that the change in sustainable.