Photo by Flickr user jepoirrier.
MCF recently began some preliminary work to create a “dashboard” to monitor our progress on achieving our Strategy | 2010 goals. Being a left-brainer who is responsible for oversight of our research functions at MCF, I love the idea of having quantitative and qualitative measures to gauge our effectiveness. (Note I wrote “effectiveness,” not “efficiency.” Check out my previous post on this topic and the insightful comments from our members and nonprofit allies.)
Several weeks ago I noticed some local media outlets, editorialists and bloggers covered MnSCU’s new online accountability dashboard. In the press release announcing the launch, MnSCU Chancellor James H. McCormick said:
“Higher education has entered a new era of accountability. For the last several years, policymakers and the public have been calling for higher education to become more transparent in what we do and how we are performing.
“It’s time for us to embrace the call for accountability with a visible, useable tool,” McCormick said, “We need to be straightforward with the public about our strengths and those areas that need improvement.”
What vision and courage! How refreshing for an organization to expose its strengths and weaknesses to the public. MCF members strive to uphold our Transparency Principle in their work. But you’ve got to admit, it’s hard for us all — grantmakers and grantseekers alike — to be honest with ourselves about our shortcomings … let alone be so forthcoming with others.
Join the conversation: Do you have a dashboard to measure your effectiveness and success? What are you ready to reveal to your constituents to help them better understand your organization?
- Wendy Wehr, VP of communications and information services
