By Michelle Shumate, Rong Wang, Katherine R. Cooper, Jack L. Harris, Shaun Doughtery, Joshua Miles, Anne-Marie Boyer, Zachary Gibson, Miranda Richardson, Hannah Kistler
In Networks that Create a Social Impact (Report 1), we highlighted two network designs associated with social impact. One of those network designs combined learning and systems alignment theories of change. Learning theories of change make a social impact by improving existing programs and services. Systems alignment theories of change focus on making connections between programs and services to serve students better. Robust data infrastructure is required to support both theories of change.
This report focuses on the data practices associated with social impact, or improved student achievement. Although we give special attention to the four networks that achieved social impact through learning and systems alignment (see Report 1), we also draw on other networks with data practices that may yield social impact in the future.
Our previous research demonstrates that nonprofit organizations’ operational capacity, or ability to set goals and measure results against those goals, is their weakest capability. However, operational capacity is also the most consistent predictor of nonprofit effectiveness. Similarly, in the networks we studied, data infrastructure was often the last addition to the network, coming after years of work. This late addition is unfortunate because robust data collection and analysis and data-driven decision-making are necessary to achieve social impact through learning and systems alignment.