This week, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a directive elevating the importance of evaluating programs supported by federal agencies. This is an exciting step taken by OMB—one that demonstrates an overall shift we are seeing in performance measurement. Capturing the impact of social initiatives led by government, nonprofits or the commercial sector is a core element of a program, and not a separate activity to be considered only at discrete moments of program implementation.  Using data in a meaningful way to drive the core work, and not just capture metrics for compliance, is part of a larger movement to deliver on the promise of social change, and understand the value of the social initiatives ignited by US government assistance.  

There are two important and converging concepts emerging from the Obama Administration—a focus on public private partnerships, and a focus on capturing results. These two streams are essential to deliver social impact in an ever changing global economy—an overall movement to partner with the private sector and to clarify results  that drive impact. Recently, we were asked to help several US agencies frame public private partnerships based on the outcomes that will drive the success they hope to achieve and capture.  In addition, in the past year, more and more nonprofits, corporations, and government agencies are tracking and analyzing results to drive their strategies and better understand the progress of their work.  Monitoring and evaluation as a discrete activity separate from program implementation and strategic planning is quickly fading as a concept.  Integrating results to drive strategy and program implementation is significantly picking up momentum and is now valued as essential in effectively managing programs that deliver success for programs in all sectors.  Each of our clients are focused on how they can best understand the progress of their work, convey and share their success, while also making key strategic changes to deliver results more effectively. 

As a firm dedicated and known for an outcomes-based approach to capturing of success and value of social initiatives in the corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors, we are enthusiastically encouraged by this OMB announcement.   And, see this as a step toward a larger movement to measure what matters, and deliver on the results we all aim to achieve to ensure social impact.