SEPTEMBER 2010

I am currently learning more about Dave Snowdens work on Cognitive Edge and how he and his team use strategies to link software and qualitative research methods to allow the collection and tagging of multiple sense-making items which can be anecdotes, pictures, web sites, blogs and other forms of unstructured data. I will be in Amsterdam now to get accredited in these methods.

My betterplace lab team, the Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance and myself are hosting an exciting workshop on how to deal with user and beneficiary generated feedback in international development projects. Let us see what we can learn from eBay, Amazon and Co for the social sector. Here (PdF) is what we are doing September 3 in Berlin.

AUGUST 2010

A weeklong retreat with my betterplace lab team in sunny France led to new energy and focus. We are cooperating with TickerTXT, who are piloting together with grantees from the betterplace platform a real time feedback system via SMS. The idea is to continuously get feedback about aid and development projects, hence furthering their progres and impact. 

I am getting more familiar with Utilization and Development Evaluation and participated in the Claremont University Evaluation Workshops with Prof. Michael Patton and Prof. Michael Scriven. At the same time i am using all the learning for new workshops and training series on how to measure social impact (for example for the Mercator Kolleg fuer Internationale Aufgaben this month). So it is a summer full of learning, reflection and eventually new products.

A handbook on how to develop a Theory of Change for German Foundations is also in the making.

 

JULY 2010

I have moved into new office space together with the Decision Institute in Berlin.

The betterplace lab team has gone online and i am proud of the bunch of inspiring people and colleagues who made that happen. We research digital technologies for the social sector and develop tools for you to use. Especially the ideas around beneficiary feedback in international development projects is something, that goodroot is heavily investing in.

Ashoka and Co. have released a new reporting standard for Social Entrepreneurs and i consider this a step in the growing field of impact measurement in the german social sector.

 

June 2010

The huge Cluster II evaluation for UN OCHA is done and here are the results. Additionally the UN has produced a short film about our work in Haiti, Uganda, the DRC, Gaza and Myanmar and it can be seen here (via utube).

Susanna on behalf of the betterplace lab is teaching a workshop on how to measure impact in social entrepreneurial organizations at the AnSchub Conference for Social Entrepreneurship at Leuphana University in Lueneburg and is attending the ANDE Metrics Conference in Washington DC of the Aspen Institute to discuss recent developments in the growing Impact Measurement field. Later this month she will also take part in a discussion at the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung in Berlin on what kind of measurement actually makes sense in the social sector. 

May 2010

At the moment i am attending a training where Sandra Janoff and Marvin Weisbord from the Future Search Network share their 30+year experience facilitating large groups and running effective meetings. Amazing what you can do with good process and intelligent structure.

The Cluster II evaluation for UN OCHA is done and official reports will be out soon.

The "Mitwirkung in Sicht" Programme by BildungsCent in Berlin, where coaches are sent to primary schools to work with all stakeholders on specific tasks to help develop the school environment for the better is closed now and while applying a participatory Monitoring and Evaluation system with them over the past year we see results! We will publish the report and important lessons learned in June.

April 2010

At the betterplace LAB we are currently launching a video contest to see the impact of social projects. I am so interested whether film and video can really be used as a monitoring and evaluation tool in the NGO world. 

The Cluster II evaluation together with GPPi for UN OCHA has come to an end. And the reports will be officially out in a couple of weeks.

March 2010

A new book on the prospects of Venture Philanthropy in Germany and Europe is out and i have written together with a colleague of mine from the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung about Social Impact Mesurement Methods in Strategic Philanthropy. You can order the book here or contact me when you are interested in learning more about it.

The Cluster Evaluation II together with GPPi and URD has held a stakeholder feedback workshop in Geneva on its Zero Draft of the long awaited Synthesis Report and we are quite busy now to finalize the first official draft. 

goodroot has a cooperation with Mission Talent now and is looking forward to mutual learning and sharing experiences.

 

February 2010

goodroot is relaunched and updated!

After a little break I am back to work and have started an exciting project with betterplace to design a stakeholder feedback project for their online donations. What is the idea? To let monitor and evaluate the beneficiaries of donations themselves to judge about quality and impact. We will soon start a Blog with the betterplace LAB about digital technologies for the social sector and i can say i am pretty excited about the prospect of all of these ideas. We will set up a monitoring system allowing beneficiaries to use video and SMS to rate on the performance of projects on the platform. That will not only enhance transparency but also serve as quality checks. Just check some of the cutting edge thinking of these developments at Ushahidi and Frontline SMS. I am also always inspired by the work of Ken Banks at kiwanjanet and Christian Kreutz at crisscrossed. They are really making my days with their absolutely interesting Blog entries!

The UN OCHA Cluster Evaluation II slowly comes to an end and i am working on the Synthesis Report together with my team at Gppi. I was a long journey with six country studies in humanitarian crisis situations to contribute to the global humanitarian reform project. We are all looking forward to global reactions and feedback to our work.

December 2009

The Cluster II evaluation for the UN requires some report writing: so we are writing the Gaza and West-Bank report. Apart from that: an article about Social Impact Measurement is finished, we are finalizing training modules for a foundation in Germany and cross checking what is going on with BildungsCent and their revised monitoring system. Susanna is hiring staff and preparing a book about social prototyping in philanthropy and ...apart from that ... looking forward to the holidays at the end of the year.

November 2009

How is the United Nations delivering humanitarian aid to vulnerable population in crisis situations? We are looking at that mechanism together with gppi and are in Gaza this month to evaluate the humanitarian response.

October 2009
- back in Berlin. Further developing Theory of Change work with BildungsCent and Stiftung Mercator. Writing and article about Venture Philanthropy in Germany. And writing the Myanmar report:-(

Europe is getting cold...but there is a very interesting fellowship program out there in Zurich and it connects professionals with promising social enterprises abroad. We love such initiatives. Deadline for application is October 26. We encourage to apply! Very promising move by the LGT Venture Philanthropy. 

I have written a short piece on the importance of strategically setting up thematic funding networks by german foundations at "51 Grad" of the Mercator Foundation.

September 2009
- in Myanmar. Evaluating the Cluster Approach in HumanitarianAid for UN OCHA Headquarters. We have teamed up for this with gppi in Berlin and URD in Paris.

August 2009
Our intern Miriam Rinawi has successfully completed some basic work on a feedback system for betterplace (thank you!), we are increasingly thinking about user led evaluation systems in online philanthropy and how to use mobiletechnology and mobile ratings when it comes to beneficiary led quality control in international development projects. Imagine that! Would be a revolution in the aid business!

The Case study series on impact philanthropy is further being worked on, Susanna is in Heidelberg at the Center for Social Investment.

July 2009
- working on user led feedback systems with BildungsCent and http://www.betterplace.org

June 2009
- goodroot joined the Global Public Policy Institute to evaluate the Cluster Approach of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) from now until 2010.

May 2009
- At New Philanthropy Capital and Bertelsmann Stiftung´s initiative there has been a gathering of non-profit-analysts who possibly will form an association in the future. It was a stimulating conference to build the field. Look here for schedule and more details.

April 2009 - Back in Berlin. A brandeins book has been published featuring pre-goodroot work and Susanna has written about an innovative foundation in Germany which is doing extremely interesting integration projects all over the country.

February/March 2009
- We are in Khartoum / Sudan to conduct evaluations for an international development agency

November 1/2, 2008 - We will be at the Vision Summit in Berlin this weekend. If you are also there and would like to meet or discuss ideas with goodroot write Susanna an eMail at info(at)good-root.org

October 25, 2008 - We have been just publishing an article about monitoring and evaluation in international development in the book: Leadership as a Vocation: Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the McCloy Program at Harvard University
Edited by Guido Houben and Tim Maxian Rusche 2008, 221 pp., pb., € 39.00,  ISBN 978-3-8329-3747-8, Nomos. If you are interested you may get it here.

October 20, 2008 - goodroot  is online