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Q: We have talked but not in detail, about my desire to have us really focus on metrics that matter (not an original phrase) for the next 3-5 years. We have activity and capacity measures in our monthly financials, but those tend to be only one-dimensional. At this point in my career, I’d like to know that the stuff we’ve done, we do, and will do actually have made a difference in the world other than earned (or lost) another dollar. I don’t know we’ve made any people more capable, if we’ve increased the world’s comprehension of our resource and our professions, we’ve made any people healthier and safer, or made anyone wealthier.
– Kevin McCray, CAE, CEO,
National Ground Water Association,
National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation
A: These questions are asked frequently by many associations – especially those that have plans that identify activities rather than the value of the activity to mission and members. Associations can use three kinds of metrics:
- outcome metrics- are we making the world different in a better way for ember and mission
- input measures- are we obtaining the resources we need
- output measure – how much and how many of things are we doing
We focus on outcome-oriented goals and strategic objectives that focus on current conditions related to each goal with which we are unsatisfied. We then determine how we want to see those conditions to change. This provides the metrics for impact.
Measures (what we will track) are developed for each objective subsequent to the planning session as part of the action planning process.
Inputs and outputs are all you can measure if the plan is focused on what you will do rather than what you will accomplish.
That’s one of the differences between the approach we will be using and other plans that are labeled strategic but are not.
Glenn Tecker
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