DOES IT MATTER? DOES IT WORK?

The value of results management in

Making Connections is being assessed in several ways. It will be reviewed as part of the formal evaluations supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation na- tionally and in partner cities. Lessons also are being studied and documented by the Center for the Study of Social Pol- icy and others. Ultimately, the approach will be validated (or not) by the extent to which it is integrated with the opera- tions of partners who are now commit- ted to maintaining the work of Making Connections over the coming decade.

Several observations suggest what this approach can achieve and why its con- tinuation and expansion may be valuable:

Results management heightens account- ability and makes it possible to justify specific methods and approaches to multiple partners. It’s always difficult to make the case for community change; the goals are long range, and while the impact on children and families can be measured, the equally important target outcomes for community capacity are

more elusive. The careful assessment of performance that results management brings to the table reassures funders and decision-makers and generates data on positive differences.

Results management keeps the focus on the outcomes sought for families and children when other factors pull attention away from these outcomes. Because it’s difficult to achieve positive change for children and families in tough neighbor- hoods in the face of economic and other challenges, many public and private pro- grams end up substituting more easily measured inputs or activities rather than results. This has been true of the human service and community development fields for years. Results management changes the dynamic, making visible—of- ten for the first time—whether the theo- ries of change behind human service and community development strategies can actually produce results. This may not be a comfortable contribution, but it is al- ways an important one.

Managing for results in the ways de- scribed above—and particularly the man- agement role of examining the progress achieved for different groups of people— surfaces equity issues in a way that forces people to deal with them. In these four Making Connections sites, performance measurement (particularly in the activities designed to achieve third-grade reading proficiency) is resulting in a fine-grained look at exactly which children are and are not succeeding. This points to inequities by race, language capacity, and other di- mensions and allows partners and sys- tems to address those issues.

The results focus and results manage- ment of Making Connections sites ulti- mately help to link community change activities to the mainstream and very important activities of local United Ways, community foundations, city govern- ments, and other powerful investors and agents of change. Results management is a trend that is transforming not only the community change field but also the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. As early adopters of the approach, the lead- ers of the four Making Connections sites whose experiences are reflected here are joining with, and in some cases becoming integral to, the most powerful forces of change in their communities.

Managing for results may help other partners and investors recognize the cen- trality of community capacities that oth- erwise would be overlooked or ignored.

In communities it is often difficult to se- cure ongoing funding to build data capac- ity, develop local leaders and mobilize residents, and support the alliances and collaborations that community change requires. By demonstrating that these ca- pacities are essential for achieving clearly defined results—and then showing those results in terms of improved family and child well-being (more employment, higher assets, better achievement in the early grades of school)—results-focused community change makes the case that investments in community capacities pay off.

Nothing about managing community

change efforts is simple. However, for those who care about the well-being of children and families in tough neighbor- hoods, and about the health and vitality of these neighborhoods themselves, greater

clarity about how to manage commu- nity change efforts is a critical goal. The efforts of hundreds of local managers, leaders, and partners in the cities recog- nized here—who are not only managing by results but demonstrating deep com- mitment and devoting endless hours of effort to achieving results—provide some answers.e

Response Essay

By Doris W. Koo Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. Columbia, Md. Patricia Auspos correctly identifies the

prerequisites for successful implemen- tation of community change efforts: a shared vision and core values. Crucial to these factors is an effective organiz- ing structure that manages ongoing and evolving relationships and challenges.

Two community change efforts can help illustrate the importance of these requisites. One is the successful redevel- opment of the former Holly Park public housing complex in Seattle. The other is the ongoing rebuilding effort in New Or- leans that followed the 2005 hurricanes. These examples present two strikingly different locations, each with unique cir- cumstances, obstacles, and opportunities. But in both, investing significant time and achieving trust made it possible to build a common vision and core values, two fun- damental, transformative factors.

EXAMPLE 1: FROM HOLLY PARK