Guidelines for Indicator Selection

M. Joseph Sirgy, Management Psychologist and Professor of Marketing, Virginia Tech

February 2, 2012 at 2:00 pm EST

Track: Indicator Theory and Practice - Selecting Your Indicators and Data Sources

Indicator selection is a very important topic in the planning of community indicator projects. There is a plethora of quality-of-life indicators that have been suggested for inclusion in community indicator projects. How do community indicator researchers go about selecting effective indicators? This webinar will provide guidelines to help community indicator researchers do a better job selecting indicators. We will discuss criteria for selecting indicators such as relevance, comprehension, reliability, sensitivity, political bias, timeliness, comparability, objective versus subjective, positive versus negative, construct validity, unit of analysis, and process.

About the presenter:

Joe Sirgy is a management psychologist (Ph.D., U/Massachusetts, 1979), Professor of Marketing, and Virginia Real estate Research Fellow at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). He has published quality of life. He is the author/editor of many books related to quality of life. He co?founded the International Society for Quality?of?Life Studies (ISQOLS) in 1995, served as its Executive Director from 1995 to 2011, and is currently serving as Development Director. In 1998, he received the Distinguished Fellow Award from ISQOLS. In 2003, ISQOLS honored him as the Distinguished QOL Researcher for research excellence and a record of lifetime achievement in QOL research. In the early 2000’s, he helped co?found the Macromarketing Society and the Community Indicators Consortium and has served as a board member of these two professional associations. Furthermore, he is the current editor of the quality-of-life section in the Journal of Macromarketing and the outgoing editor?in?chief of Applied Research in Quality of Life. In 2010, ISQOLS honored him for excellence and life?time time service to the society. Also best paper awards related to quality-of-life research (e.g., 2010 Best Paper Award in the Journal of Happiness Studies, 2011 Best Paper Award in the Journal of Travel Research).

Members register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/408901114

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United Way of Greater Milwaukee's Community Outcomes Project

Dawn Helmrich, Director of Data and Outcomes, United Way of Greater Milwaukee

February 16, 2012 at 2:00 pm EST

Track: Case Studies - CIC Member Experience with Indicator Projects

The Community Outcomes Project is designed to collectively measure outcomes in specific issue areas, in an effort to better communicate to donors and the public the impact funded programs have on our community. In implementing this project, program partners were able to collaboratively determine outcomes as they related to their services. As a result, United Way of Greater Milwaukee is better able to collectively measure and communicate tangible, meaningful results that reflect our community and its critical issues as a whole.

About the presenter:

Dawn Helmrich is the Director of Data and Outcomes at United Way of Greater Milwaukee. During her tenure she has helped develop the Community Outcomes Project into a nationally recognized model and works directly with the community to ensure that funded programs are meeting their outcomes. She graduated from The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee with a Masters degree in Sociology. Dawn has a certificate from the U.S. Department of Education in statistics and survey development. She previously worked as a program evaluator for the Alliance for Children and Families and a line therapist for the Wisconsin Early Autism Project. Dawn serves on the Board for the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault and is a Commissioner for The Milwaukee Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. 

 

Members register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/232634202

Nonmembers register here: http://www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=1186&EID=11351

Minnesota COMPASS: The Not-So-Hidden Secrets to Our Success

Craig Helmstetter, Consulting Scientist, Wilder Research and Andi Egbert, Research Scientist, Wilder Research

February 23, 2012 at 2:00 pm EST

Track: Case Studies - CIC Member Experience with Indicator Projects

Minnesota Compass is a statewide indicators project covering a full range of topics, from Aging and Immigration to Public Safety, Housing, and Education. The project is supported by a consortium of 17 Foundations, as well as the 500+ influential Minnesotans who have participated in its development. Minnesota Compass includes a broad outreach and engagement strategy that includes everything from convening events to tweeting. This case-study will address everything from how we select "key measures" and manage data to our basic budget and project staffing. We also look forward to hearing your suggestions and feedback on our website (www.mncompass.org).

About the presenters:

Craig's two major responsibilities are Minnesota's Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), a database in use by more than 200 organizations serving people experiencing homelessness in Minnesota, and the Compass quality of life initiative, where he oversees information presented on an array of topics relating to the region's well-being. Craig joined Wilder Research in 2001 after working as a program evaluator for Minnesota’s Office of the Legislative Auditor. Prior to that Craig worked as a project director for a survey research center, and an intake worker at a homeless shelter. He holds a master's degree in community and regional planning and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Oregon. He has taught university-level seminars on quantitative research methods and homelessness, and has spoken at several local and national conferences.

 

Andi monitors the well-being of Minnesota’s residents and communities to inform the Minnesota Compass project.  Andi analyzes data and research to understand and communicate key trends in our state and how to secure better outcomes for all of our residents. Andi also consults with other Wilder Research staff and external groups to provide insight about the best indicators for understanding and monitoring community change. Her background is deepest in early childhood, education, health, poverty and aging, as well as the public programs and policies that interact with these topics and populations. Previously Andi managed the Minnesota KIDS COUNT project, tracking quality of life indicators for children and families.  She has served also as a case manager for families receiving TANF assistance, an adult literacy instructor, and a writer and editor for several publications. Andi holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, with a concentration in social policy and vulnerable populations. She also earned a B.A. in English from Valparaiso University in Indiana. 

Members register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/726994570

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Community Balanced Scorecards & Effective Community Governance

Paul Epstein, Results that Matter Team

March 8, 2012 at 2:00 pm EST

Track: Indicator Theory and Practice - Indicators and Tools for Community Engagement

Public, private, and nonprofit organizations use balanced scorecards to map their strategy based on cause-and-effect assumptions, to align the entire organization behind that strategy, and to measure and improve strategic performance. They use balanced scorecards not just to manage for results, but to manage for strategic results that most advance their mission. A Community Balanced Scorecard can bring that power to an entire community by focusing on a state, regional, or community improvement strategy that involves multiple players such as citizens, government, nonprofits, and public-minded businesses. Balanced scorecards are about managing strategy; Community Balanced Scorecards combine the traditional approach with engagement of partners to enable faster, better progress toward desired community outcomes. Our Community Balanced Scorecard (CBSC) methodology has adapted the balanced scorecard strategy map and added more tools to manage the complexity of collaborative efforts, communicate strategy to partners to help them find their roles, and help partners determine how to implement and measure their contributions toward the realization of the community’s vision.

About the presenter:

Paul Epstein has over 25 years’ experience in public service performance measurement and improvement, strategy management including balanced scorecards, and sharing innovation.  He is a recipient of the American Society for Public Administration’s Harry Hatry lifetime achievement award for distinguished performance measurement practice.  He has assisted local, state, federal, United Nations, and nonprofit organizations including state and local public health departments and Medical Reserve Corps across the U.S. He has helped entire local governments develop performance measures, and government agencies develop and use balanced scorecards, strategy maps, and strategic plans. With Lyle Wray, he developed the Community Balanced Scorecard (CBSC) to manage collaborative strategies to achieve public outcomes no single organization can achieve on its own. With Dr. Wray and others, he developed the Effective Community Governance (ECG) Model featured in the book Results That Matter (2006), of which Mr. Epstein is lead author.  With Alina Simone, he developed public health applications of CBSC used by community health partnerships, and international development applications of CBSC and ECG used in Russia.  He also helped the Governmental Accounting Standards Board develop criteria for effective public performance reporting, used by state and local governments across the country. Mr. Epstein has an engineering degree from MIT, and has taught graduate public management at NYU, the University of Hartford, and Baruch College.

 

Members register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/184043586

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Community Results Toolkit: From Community Indicators to Results

Lyle Wray, Executive Director, Capitol Region Council of Governments, Hartford, CT, and CIC Board Member

March 15, 2012 at 2:00 pm EST

Track: Indicator Theory and Practice - Indicators and Tools for Community Engagement

Lyle will cover selecting issues to be addressed in communities based on indicators information and then offer a toolkit for getting results in the community to advance these indicators. Specifically the webinar will cover:

• Robust engagement of residents as partners in multiple roles.
• Causal diagrams to diagnose the problem.
• Evidence-based practices.
• Strategy maps.
• Performance measurement of drivers and outcomes.
• Detailed action plans keyed to strategy, performance, and partners.

• Community results compacts.

Examples from community practice will be offered to illustrate each of these steps. 

 

About the presenter:

 

Lyle Wray, a CIC board member, serves as a Resource Consultant for the Results That Matter Team and is Executive Director of the Capitol Region Council of Governments in Hartford, Connecticut. For over 25 years, his work has emphasized measuring and improving public services and engaging citizens. He was Dakota County (MN) Administrator after serving as Director of Human Services, the department responsible for public health. Dr. Wray was a court monitor for institutional reforms and deinstitutionalization for persons with developmental disabilities in Minnesota. He headed developmental disabilities services in Newfoundland and Labrador as well as outcomes measurement in the Minnesota Human Services Department. Dr. Wray was Executive Director of the Citizens League in Minnesota when he teamed with Paul Epstein not only to co-lead Sloan Foundation-funded research that led to the Effective Community Governance (ECG) Model but also to co-author the related book, Results That Matter (Jossey-Bass, 2006). ECG and Community Balanced Scorecards, which Dr. Wray also helped to develop, bring a new strategic community focus to public health QI. He teaches graduate courses in service outcomes, e-government, and public service reform. He has a BA, MA, and PhD from the University of Manitoba. 

 

Members register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/407820226

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