Melissa Levy, of Yellow Wood Associates, at the 2012 National Rural Transportation Conference.

1. Transportation and
Measurement
Presented by:
Melissa Levy
Yellow Wood Associates
April 26, 2012

2. You Get What You Measure®
A values-based facilitated group process
developed by Yellow Wood Associates in St.
Albans, Vermont, that integrates systems thinking
into strategic planning, identifies key leverage
indicators and aligns actions to achieve goals.
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

3. Selected Applications
 National Good Food Network to develop a strategic plan to
strengthen regional food systems
 U.S. Forest Service, Cooperative Forestry Program
 Vermont Environmental Consortium (non-profit) Board to
develop and monitor implementation of a strategic plan
 Northwest Area Foundation to develop a framework for
evaluation of grantee projects
 Advantage Valley Entrepreneurship Development System
Collaborative to evaluate a three year initiative funded by the
Kellogg Foundation
 Community Foundation of Greater South Wood County to
engage nonprofits and funders in workforce development
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

4. Measurement Dilemmas
No measures at all
Misleading measures
Process measures only
Measures without context
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

5. Strategic Planning Dilemmas
False assumptions: e.g. We all understand the
goal to mean the same thing
Arbitrary priorities: e.g. Whatever gets the most
dots wins
Unspoken and untested assumptions – limits our
sense of what’s possible
Lack of engagement and participatory learning –
planning is for managers
Seeing measurement as an afterthought rather
than a powerful tool for formative evaluation
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

6. Systems Thinking
Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing
wholes. It is a framework for seeing
interrelationships rather than things, for
seeing patterns of change rather than static
“snapshots.”
- Peter Senge
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

7. Why Measure?
Measurement:
 Fuels continuous learning through reflection
 Creates new information and new patterns of information
flow
 Captures results of risk and experimentation
 Supports constructive self-organizing behavior
 Can lead to new and unprecedented conversations,
particularly with information gatekeepers
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

8. EXERCISE:
Everyday Measures
List a few things that you count or measure as part
of your daily life (not connected to work).
Think about how you measure them
and what kinds of decisions or actions
you take based upon the
measurements.
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

9. Process Overview
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

10. Goal
A goal is a condition that you wish to achieve. A
goal is not an action. It is not about doing or
making; it is about being.
Achieving a goal requires a change in
the way your organization or your
community looks, feels, and
acts.
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

11. Goal
Goal: From Spartanburg County
Foundation
“In the year 2030, 40% of our residents
age 25+ have a baccalaureate degree.”
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

12. Indicator
An indicator is something that must be changed, or
a condition that must be achieved, in order to claim
that progress is being made toward a goal.
Since goals are generally quite broad,
there are many possible indicators that
could suggest progress toward the
goal.
What needs to change?
In what direction?
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

13. What Makes a Good Indicator?
If the goal is:
Everyone in our community can find
rewarding work.
• Useful indicator: The number and diversity
of work opportunities in our community are
increasing.
• Less useful: Number of jobs in our
community.
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

14. Indicator
• More early identification of students who have the
ability to achieve academically.
• More parent involvement K-12 (16)
• Increased high school completion (diploma/GED).
• Increased community/parent knowledge, re:
planning for our children to go to college.
• More sensitivity on the part of educated
professionals, re: economic disadvantage, social
class, family background, children’s family problems.
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

15. Indicator
• Indicators are contributed by each
stakeholder at the table.
• The relationship between each indicator
and every other is decided:
– Strong relationship
– Weak relationship
– No relationship
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

16. “In the year 2030, 40% of our residents age 25+ have a
baccalaureate degree.”
1 – More emphasis on parent
involvement in elementary
10 – More sensitivity on the part of school. (si-1, di-1, so-4, do-2)
educated professionals, re:
economic disadvantage, social
class, family background,
children’s family problems. (si-1,
di-1, so-0, do-0) KRI#2 2 – More early identification
of students who have the
ability to achieve
academically. (si-4, di-2, so-
0, do-5) KRI #1
9 – Increased community/parent
knowledge, re: planning for our
children to go to college. (si-3, di-3,
so-2, do-1) KRI#2 3- Eliminate socio-
economic cultural
prejudices in school.
(si-1, di-3, so-3, do-2)
8 – Increased high
school completion
(diploma/GED). (si-4, di- 4- More emphasis on
0, so-2, do-1) quality early childhood
education for all birth –
5years. (si-2, di-1, so-2, do-
3)
7 Reduction of
crime county-wide 5 – More action to break
from youth to adult. gangs. (si-4, di-2, so-1, do-2)
(si-2, di-4, so-1, do-
1)
6 – More parent involvement K-12
(16) (si-0, di-1, so-8, do-1) KLI
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

17. Key Leverage Indicator
More parent involvement K-12 (16)
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

18. Indicator Analysis
The result
Key leverage indicators
Key results indicators
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

19. Assumption
An assumption is a hypothesis about some aspect of the
way the world works that we believe to be true.
Assumptions can be difficult to recognize because they are
often deeply imbedded in the way we think about the world.
The tendency to treat our assumptions as
unquestionably true allows them to shape our
world and become barriers to innovation and
creativity.
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

20. Measure
A measure provides a way to
actually count or value the status of an indicator.
For example, things may be measured in terms of “number
of,” “percent of,” “quality of,” “frequency of,” or “rating of.”
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

21. Steps to Developing a
Measure
1. Define the terms in your indicator so that
everyone knows what they mean.
2. Determine the baseline. This is the first
time you measure it.
3. Determine the unit. What are you
measuring? People, percentages, miles,
etc.
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

22. Using the Results of
Measurement
Rule #1:
If you don’t know how you are going to use information,
don’t collect it. Consider using information to influence
decision-makers, educate stakeholders, improve
interventions.
Rule #2:
Collect information that will be most relevant and useful in
achieving your goal. The more closely your measures are
tied to your interventions, the more useful they will be.
Don’t try to measure too much.
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

23. Intervention
An intervention is something you DO in order to
achieve your goal. The intervention should be
defined broadly enough to involve people in a
variety of different tasks and provide opportunities
for participants who don’t normally work together
to do so.
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

24. Information and Direct Action
• Information action – Letting someone
know your situation.
• Direct action – Fixing the problem.
• An action plan should have both.
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

25. Choosing Sample Measures
1. What has to happen for it
to “count” as progress
toward the goal?
2. What are the behavioral
changes that indicate
progress?
3. What is the baseline that
meet the definitions?
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

26. Choosing Sample Measures
 Framing Measure:
 Measure:
 Unit of Measure:
 Baseline:
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

27. Measuring as Action
 The act of measuring helps us learn what we need to
know to make progress toward the goal.
 Measurement can create progress.
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

28. Indicators to Measures
to Actions
Key Leverage Indicators
Definitions
Measures
Actions
Measurement Plan
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

29. The Power of Measurement
 Allows us to identify and test our assumptions about the
way the world works.
 Focuses our efforts and helps us align our resources.
 Helps us tell our stories to potential supporters.
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

30. Strengths of This Process
 Community priorities – bottom up planning.
 Iterative annual process.
 Using experts to inform the process
 Engaging a variety of stakeholders
 Progress toward goals
 Tradeoffs between multiple goals
 Measures inform what happens next.
© 2012, Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.

31. For More Information
Melissa Levy
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.
228 N. Main Street
St. Albans, VT 05478
802-524-6141
melissa@yellowwood.org
www.yellowwood.org
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. is a woman-owned firm providing services in rural community economic development since 1985.
You Get What You Measure® is a trademarked service developed by Yellow Wood. For more information, email yellowwood@yellowwood.org