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Katie Emerson
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Hack this!

August 7, 2015

Another way to do and measure philanthropy to produce direct measurable results. In a recent Wall Street Journal column, Sean Parker, the co-founder of Napster and the founding president of Facebook, called on the philanthropy community to do what he and his fellow digital pioneers did to create today’s tech giants: “‘Hack’ complex problems using elegant technological and social solutions, and an almost religious belief in the power of data to aid in solving those problems.” “While philanthropists like to talk about impact, they seldom have the tools to measure it,” Parker wrote. “This has led to a world in which the primary currency of exchange is recognition and reputation, not effectiveness. These incentives lead most philanthropists to favor ‘safe’ gifts to well-established institutions, resulting in a never-ending competition to name buildings at major universities, medical centers, performing arts centers and other such public places.” “How to” — selecting the right tools for...

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Getting Evaluations Right – How to Get Better at Getting Better

July 13, 2015

5 ways grantees can get better at getting better Philanthropy has come a long way in evaluating and reporting on whether funded projects are working. Instead of furtively redirecting underperforming grants or attempting to shine up less-than-stellar results for an annual report, foundations are doing one better: learning to get better at getting better. When well designed and implemented, evaluations can provide useful information and insights that drive strategy and impact. The key is providing grantees feedback in ways they can use to learn what’s working (or not) and act on that information to continuously improve. Five lessons are emerging: 1. Shorter feedback loops When grantees receive evaluation feedback early and more often, they can make the changes necessary to deliver better results. The Doceō project, launched by the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation (JKAF), established technology education centers at Northwest Nazarene University and the University of Idaho. The goal...

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Education’s “pea in the mattresses” A tale of layers and royal domains

June 30, 2015

Sometimes the most obvious education solutions are the hardest to get attention for, much less implement. That’s the way it is with advocating for K-12 and higher education working together to improve college completion. The simple act of K-12 and higher education faculty and administrators together reviewing student performance data and observations about student needs delivers huge benefits. Student learning is made more relevant. The transition from K-12 to higher education is made smoother. Faculty understand more about what students need to succeed. More students earn degrees. But this solution is a bit like the Hans Christian Andersen “Princess and the Pea” tale with the pea that signals ‘happy ever after,’ stuck amidst layers and layers of separate K-12 and higher education cultures and control agencies. We’re still waiting for the most discerning would-be princess policymaker or philanthropist to discover this magical pea. Like the prince, we’re stuck grumbling about the...

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Improving Response Time in Education

May 12, 2015

by Brad C. Phillips What if the solution to what ails education was a simple matter of timing? We know the fastest response times win the day in health care, retail, and other sectors, so why not education? The answer lies in when education’s data and accountability systems provide information – is it in time or too late? Too often the success or failure of education is measured after the fact. Education reporting and data collection systems almost exclusively focus on metrics like graduation rates, test scores, and even employment, which are reported too late to be acted upon. While important and representative of goals we as a nation must attain, they are not designed to help those in the delivery of education do the work required to meet those goals.  Imagine being made to follow the speed limit, but denied access to a speedometer – only learning how fast you are going after the police officer pulls you over and gives you a ticket. And when you protest, you’re told you should have...

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