If you’ve been in the nonprofit field for a while, then you’ve probably heard people say that you shouldn’t design a program in response to a grant opportunity. If you’ve followed me for a minute, then you’ve probably even heard me say something like this.
This advice is a good starting point, but it doesn’t tell you much about how to actually go about designing strong programs.
That is what I’d like to explore today.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- How to identify the need & desired outcomes
- Why you need to research other programs addressing this need
- How to design a monitoring and evaluation program
Let’s dive in!
First, identify the need & your desired outcomes
The first step in designing strong programs is to identify the need and begin thinking about your desired outcomes.
It’s likely that you have a number of causes you’re passionate about and want to make a difference in. But when it comes to designing strong programs, it’s best to start narrow.
Think about your ideal outcome. What would the world look like if this issue were completely solved? It’s okay to dream big here.
You probably have ideas about how to bridge the gap between the existing conditions and your ideal outcome. In addition to considering each of these as potential strategies, you will want to look into other efforts to address similar issues.
Look into other programs addressing this need
Most likely, you are not the first person to see this need. Your next step is to look into other efforts to address the issue, both locally and in other places.
Organizations near you geographically that are addressing the same need are both potential partners and potential competitors. Before you launch a program, think about how you will define your scope in relation to the existing nonprofit ecosystem. How will you differentiate yourself?
In addition to looking into organizations near you doing similar work, you will also want to research organizations in other places working on similar programs. What has worked for them? Are there elements of their program design that you want to replicate? (It can also help to pay attention to the major funders of their work.)
All of your research into other efforts to address the need you’ve identified will help you set benchmarks for your program–realistic targets for what you wish to accomplish.
Design your monitoring and evaluation
The work does not stop at setting benchmarks. You’ll need to have a plan for measuring whether you’re achieving these or not.
This is where monitoring and evaluation comes in. Too often, program evaluation is an afterthought. But unless you have systems set up to collect data over the course of your program, then you’ll be playing a difficult game of catch up.
Depending on the nature of your work, you may use surveys or interviews to collect data from your participants. It’s important to also measure the starting state, the conditions that exist before your work, so that you have something to compare your later data to. For example, if you work in the education space, you might collect data on reading test scores before your intervention and after.
In addition, it’s important to keep track of more basic program metrics, such as the number of people served, the number of hours of programming delivered, etc.
Next steps
Regardless of how long your organization has been in operation, there is always space to refine and improve your nonprofit program design.
Begin by taking stock of your existing programs. Do you have benchmarks and goals for your program outcomes? How long has it been since you revisited those?
For newer organizations or those looking to expand their impact with new programs, I just want to emphasize how much time you can save in the long run by being thoughtful about your design.
If you’re interested in learning how to put each of the steps we covered (and more) into practice, I invite you to join me for our Program Design Workshop on October 20 at 11 am CT/12 pm ET. Learn more here.
