Rethinking Capacity Building: How Do Organizations Best Learn How to Use Data?
For nonprofits and mission-driven organizations, data is a tool for learning, improving programs, and making the best strategic decisions. Strong data practices can help organizations understand what’s working, adapt in real time, and demonstrate impact. Professional data use goes beyond basic reporting or compliance. It refers to how organizations actively embed data into the day-to-day decision-making process to enhance programs, allocate resources, guide strategy, assess outcomes, evaluate impact, and predict
Social Needs Navigation Decreases Expenditures and Improves Health Outcomes: The Results of the AHC Model Study
A person’s health is shaped by their surroundings long before they ever reach a doctor’s office. For our most vulnerable neighbors, daily hurdles like poverty, lack of transportation, and unstable housing (i.e., social determinants of health) create a “health gap” that is difficult to bridge. As the United States works to lower the rising costs of Medicaid and Medicare, it faces a critical challenge: finding the budget to address these
Introducing The Health and Human Services Referral Systems’ Measurement and Evaluation Playbook
Data is everywhere. The volume of data created by our interactions with technology is growing exponentially. In fact, it’s estimated that in 2026, 658,000,000 TB of data will be generated every single day. Health and human service networks are no different. From case creation to referral acceptance, each step in the process generates a data point that can be captured, analyzed, and evaluated. This creates a problem. Often, referral networks
#SocialCareSeries: Navigating the Maze — The Sequential Barriers in the Help-Seeking Pathway
In our past two #SocialCareSeries, we explored the formal “Bureaucratic Hurdles” that complicate access to social services and the “Invisible Walls” of stigma and isolation that hinder informal support. However, these barriers do not appear all at once. Researchers at the Northwestern Network for Social Impact (NNSI) have found that, in addition to identifying formal and informal barriers, these barriers appear in a sequential order within the help-seeking pathway. Identifying
#SocialCareSeries: Understanding Informal Barriers to Seeking Help
In our last #SocialCareSeries, we broke down formal barriers to accessing social services. Bureaucratic hurdles, information gaps, and identity-based discrimination often determine whether individuals can successfully navigate formal support networks such as government programs, social service organizations, and nonprofits. However, even when resources are available, many people struggle to reach out for help, and this hesitation is often less visible. These challenges function as invisible walls, not visible from the
#VeteranCareSeries: Senior Veterans and Co-Occurring Needs
Nearly half of the nation’s veterans are now over age 65 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023). As the veteran population ages, their needs are aging with them. Our first blog in the #VeteransCare Series focused on the challenges that co-occur early on military transition. This second blog explores what co-occurring needs look like for older veterans and why coordinated care becomes even more essential with age. Physical Health, Mental Health, and