Lessons Learned As An NGO Dives Into Data

The torrent of online content – so much of it dressed as authoritative but laced with bias – can make it hard to accurately assess core public concerns and develop real solutions.

The problem can be acute for stakeholders in states and regions struggling to shepherd scarce public funds and address economic growth, worker retraining, ballooning college costs, health risks, environmental degradation and crumbling infrastructure.

One result of all this: policy-centric non-profits are stepping into the void, where shrinking media and fierce partisans generally can’t or won’t.

The Washington Business Alliance provides a case in point. Drawing upon issue analysis and priority-setting by business and public sector volunteers, the organization recently released Version 1 of Metrics Explorer and PLAN Washington.

The former is an interactive data tool capturing Washington state’s performance on dozens of measures across six policy areas: economic development, education, environment, governance, health and transportation. The latter is the Alliance’s new strategic policy guide for the state that accents just two or three most essential metrics in each of the six policy areas, plus related 2025 performance targets and first-stage strategies for success.

Here are some lessons we learned in the immersive experience of developing Metrics Explorer.

Be Transparent, Historic, and Graphic. For each measure used, explain what it really means, where it comes from, and why it matters. Also link to the source data or document; enrich with interactive graphics that depict changes in outcomes over a multi-year period; and provide comparisons with leading competitors.

Offer a Metrics Catalogue, and a Precis Linked to Aims. In the end there was an embarrassment of riches. So a two-pronged approach made sense. You can get a full sense of how a state can assess economic development – from the 23 indicators in that field alone that are offered in Metrics Explorer; but in the corresponding section of PLAN Washington the 23 are narrowed to three around which to center 2025 goals and linked action strategies.

“Index” Metrics Can be Valuable. The Alliance’s co-founder and board chair David Giuliani – an electrical engineer, inventor and successful serial entrepreneur – referred during our build to the “make or buy” choice that product manufacturers often face. With this in mind we “bought” (for free) vetted indexes to convey data insights on the comparative ranking of Washington state to other states in K-12 education system quality, total effective business tax rate, health determinants, public finance practices, condition of roads, bridges and transit,freight rail, and more.

Don’t Get Locked In To One Formula. Although many of Explorer’s metrics are based on 50-state rankings, others are Washington-only measures that can also help raise the bar, such as time to reach final decisions on storm water permits, or remedial courses for new community and technical college students. Another approach is contrasting one state not with the 49 others but the nation as a whole. We were able to develop such comparisons on average share of transit operating costs provided by passengers, and median household income.

Break Rules Every Now and Then. Another approach is to infuse the concept of performance metrics with bold aspirations. Metrics Explorer identifies as a key measure for environment the creation of a system to calculate the economic value of natural assets in the state. Such a framework could powerfully guide future decisions involving growth and other quality-of-life components. Arguably, developing such a system is more a strategy than a measurable goal. But if the right measures haven’t been mainstreamed, their adoption can become a legitimate, even crucial performance goal.

Expect Things To Change. We’re already thinking about how to improve and refine Metrics Explorer. We may add or subtract specific measures in the current six topic areas, based on stakeholder review and our own reassessments. New sections could be eventually be added to Explorer and PLAN on non-transportation infrastructure, quality of life, and social services. Data storage and display tools may shift, as well.

Clarify Your Own Measures of Success. Choosing and publishing credible measures of success for the state, and committing to reporting on annual progress toward related goals, also highlighted the need for the Alliance to catalyze stakeholders and clarify its own internal performance measures around advancing PLAN. This will be challenging, but the most worthwhile efforts always are.

If you can dig in to Metrics Explorer and PLAN Washington a bit, please share your frank reactions. They’ll be bound to help the Alliance as it moves forward.

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