Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Measuring to Improve (And Not Just to Prove)
Session Description
It is important to understand and to be able to describe the impact that your efforts have had on the world. But that should not be the only reason you collect data about your work. Learn new ways to use performance measurement to drive better results, reduce costs and promote rapid innovation. We will draw upon the example and the expertise of One Acre Fund, a self-identified ‘data-driven organisation’, which regularly gathers data to guide their efforts and to foster real-time improvement.
When | Where
15:00 - 16:15
Wednesday, April 10
Lecture Theatre 4
Session leaders
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As Director of Analysis & Insight for the Skoll Foundation, Ehren Reed is responsible for assessing the impact and effectiveness of the foundation’s efforts in order to support ongoing learning and evidence-based decision making.
He was previously a Director of Innovation Network, a Washington, DC-based evaluation consulting firm. He brings over ten years of experience managing research and evaluation projects for grantmakers and grantees in the fields of human services, human rights, and advocacy. He is a diehard promoter of evaluation use and a firm believer in the power of evaluation and learning as a support for effective strategy. He speaks frequently on emerging trends in evaluation and has presented at many sector conferences including Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, the Council on Foundations, Grantmakers in Health, the American Evaluation Association, and the Communications Network.
Ehren earned both a B.A. and M.S. in Education from the University of Connecticut. He is an avid fan of craft beers and Nationals baseball, especially when combined.
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Matthew Forti is the U.S. Managing Director of One Acre Fund, now the largest nonprofit social enterprise working exclusively to improve the yields and incomes of Africa’s staple-crop, smallholder farmers. One Acre Fund delivers farm inputs, finance, training, and market facilitation to over 500,000 farm families across six countries in East and Southern Africa, ending chronic hunger for over 2 million children and enabling productive investments in education, health, and new business activities.
Matt played an instrumental role in One Acre Fund’s founding at the Kellogg School of Management, helping to raise the seed capital and becoming its inaugural Board Chair. He is now Vice Chair of the governing board and helps coordinate the organization’s global operations, including partnership and business development, corporate finance, and monitoring & evaluation. Prior, Matt was a Manager at the Bridgespan Group and received his MBA with distinction from the Kellogg School of Management. Matt writes extensively on the topic of performance measurement, including through a blog series for Stanford Social Innovation Review.
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Andrew Youn started One Acre Fund in 2006. One Acre Fund only serves smallholder farmers in East Africa – and provides farm inputs, finance, and training that boosts farm profits by 50%. One Acre Fund has 6,000 staff who serve 600,000+ families per year, plus 750,000+ more families via partnership. The organization will double in size by 2020, and aims to be the most impactful distribution network for life-improving goods in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. Andrew graduated from Yale magna cum laude, is a former management consultant at Oliver Wyman, and received his MBA from Kellogg School of Management.
