Lessons Learned from Creating a Performance Culture in a School Reform Nonprofit Eric Barela, Ph.D. Partners in School Innovation 2011 American Evaluation Association Conference, Anaheim, CA

Partners in School Innovation SF Bay Area-based nonprofit founded in employees Annual operating budget of approx $3.5 million PartnersSI supports schools in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose

Mission To enable public schools in high- poverty Bay Area communities— serving students of color and English Learners—to achieve educational equity through school-based reform We do this by providing coaching support to existing teachers and school leaders around effective data use.

Dilemma In 2008, PartnersSI was at a crossroads: –Lack of clarity around program –Culture of “private practice” with respect to program implementation –Intermittent tracking of student achievement results –Uneven staff accountability, often perceived to be subjective Solution: –Create Organizational Performance dept. –Work toward incorporating a performance culture

Performance Culture “An organization with a performance culture is focused on mission effectiveness (doing well what it says it does) and mission fulfillment (doing it well for as many as it reasonably— maybe even unreasonably—can).” (Morino, 2011)

PartnersSI Two-pronged Approach Organizational Performance Department Design and Implementation Performance measurement strategy Management roles and responsibilities Metrics, tools and data system Reporting and communication of results

Design and Implementation Performance Measurement Strategy –Evaluate and report on program AND organizational effectiveness –Develop and manage measurement tools/processes –Inform relevant external communities of PartnersSI work –As an org matures, performance measurement processes should evolve into evaluation processes (Forti, 2011; Price, 2011) Management Roles/Responsibilities –Dedicated Organizational Performance dept. –Defined management roles around monitoring and managing individual performance

Design and Implementation Metrics/Tools/Data System –Appropriate, relevant, timely data collection (Collecting the right data to measure impact in the right ways at the right time) –Data collection across all org departments Program implementation Student achievement Fundraising capacity Effectiveness of internal business, HR processes Usefulness of Organizational Performance reports

Design and Implementation Reporting and Communication of Results –Relevant, timely, consistent reporting –Transparency around formative and summative data However, offering an increased amount of data without systems to support data use won’t improve performance (Price, 2011).

PartnersSI Two-pronged Approach Organizational Performance Department Design and Implementation Performance measurement strategy Management roles and responsibilities Metrics, tools and data system Reporting and communication of results Change Management Theory of change Learning from results Culture of learning at all levels Staff engagement and buy-in

Consistent, high- quality delivery of PartnersSI approach Increased school capacity in leadership, professional learning, and instruction Breakthrough student achievement What we doWhat school staff do What students do Theory of Change

Change Management Learning from Results –Relevant, timely, consistent reporting AND analysis/interpretation assistance Culture of Learning at All Levels –Field staff –Managers –Cabinet –Board of Directors Staff engagement and buy-in –Consistency –Transparency –Relevance –Evidence of learning from results

Elements of Performance Culture Mission Measurement (2008) –Internal drivers for measuring performance –Leadership values performance data –Outcomes-driven strategy (“whatever it takes to achieve our objectives…”) –Continuous improvement via reflection and adjustment –20% of nonprofits operate this way, PartnersSI is striving to be in that 20%!

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