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Working with organizations to make the most of information, navigate complexity and ensure investments of time and money are impactful.

Message from Leah Goldstein Moses, Improve Group President and CEO – Fall 2011

 

Recently, I prepared to facilitate a workshop where participants would think about their purpose, and was prompted to do some deeper reflection myself. The work that I find the most meaningful helps others gain clarity and insight about the world around them, and make a greater impact in their communities.

 

How does that purpose drive the day-to-day work of the Improve Group?

 

First, we are fortunate that our staff share this purpose, and can carry the work forward through their exceptional skills and talents. I am impressed daily with their wisdom and creativity.

 

Second, we use professional standards to help when we face difficult decisions. For example, we often have to balance people’s expectations for privacy with organization’s desires for knowledge. Guidelines available from the American Evaluation Association, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation help us ensure we consider all issues as we make recommendations. Over the past two years, we have been developing tools to help us apply the standards in a wide variety of situations – such as internal checklists, discussion guides, and decision trees.

 

Finally, we have articulated a number of values that describe who we are: zest for learning, respect for people, and collaboration. When presented with a new opportunity, or overcoming a challenge, we refer to our values and determine which choices best allow us to adhere to them.

The purpose, quality of our staff, standards and values have helped us to earn our clients trust.

 

Thank you for visiting our virtual home. I invite you to meet us in person to see if we can put this purpose to work for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We use the American Evaluation Association’s Guiding Principles for Evaluators to help us act with the utmost respect:

Evaluators respect the security, dignity and self-worth of respondents, program participants, clients, and other evaluation stakeholders.

  1. Evaluators should seek a comprehensive understanding of the important contextual elements of the evaluation.
  2. Evaluators should abide by current professional ethics, standards, and regulations regarding risks, harms, and burdens that might befall those participating in the evaluation; regarding informed consent for participation in evaluation; and regarding informing participants and clients about the scope and limits of confidentiality.
  3. Justified negative or critical conclusions from an evaluation must be explicitly stated and evaluations sometimes produce results that harm client or stakeholder interests; our evaluators seek to maximize the benefits and reduce any unnecessary harms that might occur, provided the integrity of the evaluation findings is not compromised.
  4. Knowing that evaluations may negatively affect the interests of some stakeholders, evaluators should conduct the evaluation and communicate its results in a way that clearly respects the stakeholders' dignity and self-worth.
  5. Where feasible, evaluators should attempt to foster social equity in evaluation, so that those who give to the evaluation may benefit in return. For example, evaluators should seek to ensure that those who bear the burdens of contributing data and incurring any risks do so willingly.

We strive to minimize our impact on the environment by:

  1. using paper products with a high percentage of recycled content;
  2. re-using extra paper for rough notes and printing draft documents;
  3. recycling used paper (sensitive documents are first shredded);
  4. sharing documents electronically when possible;
  5. ensuring all new electrical equipment is Energy Star compliant;
  6. meeting remotely when possible to avoid the impact of travel on the environment; and
  7. enabling our staff to work remotely while maintaining security and quality.

We find that technology allows us to work efficiently, reduce our environmental impact, and be responsive to the needs of our clients and the people they serve. We strive to use technology to support our work by:

  1. offering technological alternatives during data collection, such as web- and email-based surveys and chat-based focus groups;
  2. using respected, established tools for analysis to ensure results are valid and reliable;
  3. use mobile applications to reach respondents such as text polls and response clickers; and
  4. host meetings electronically when appropriate.


The Improve Group Staff members at monthly staff meeting.
Improve Group staff members enhance skills during monthly staff meetings.