Becoming a Measurement Guide

Yellow Wood Associates, Inc., of St. Albans, VT, announces a training for that will enable interested professionals to deliver a powerful planning and evaluation tool, called You Get What You Measure7 to their own clients. In development for over ten years, You Get What You Measure7 recognizes the importance of values in group work, incorporates systems thinking, and creates a culture of group learning. Unlike traditional strategic planning processes, You Get What You Measure7 explores in detail the connections between goals, indicators, measures, and the assumptions about how or whether specific actions will affect progress towards the goal.

Ideal measurement guide candidates include community development and natural resource professionals who are skilled facilitators and who are seeking to build the capacity of their organizations or communities to make real and measurable progress towards their goals. After completing the three-day Becoming a Measurement Guide training, participants will be well on their way to becoming a licensed guide who can deliver You Get What You Measure7to clients of their choice. The training will be held at Yellow Wood Associates in St. Albans, Vermont  One or two of the available slots for this training will be available for smaller organizations at discounted rates (email or call us for more information). For more information, please call us (802-524-6141) to order a brochure, or email us. To maximize the amount of personal engagement and hands-on learning, this training has been limited to five participants, so please register early!

Previously trained guides include individuals representing a diverse array of community organizations and professional businesses (covering over 15 states) including: a statewide non-profit specializing in community health issues, a state agency of natural resources, a business development consulting firm, a multi-state non-profit specializing in poverty-reduction programs, regional substance abuse and prevention program, and others. Here's what a few them had to say about Becoming a Measurement Guide training.

"I wanted to thank you again, for a fantastic, train-the-trainer workshop! I learned an amazing amount of of highly practical tools and ideas to improve facilitation for group seeking change."

— Kim Norris, Evaluation Consultant, Eco-Eval

"You Get What You Measure7 actually does what other planning processes just say they do. This helps you get why you couldn't follow glossy planning processes, reveals their arbitrary nature, and shows you instead exactly what is needed to get concretely from A to B."

                  — Susan Youmans, Executive Director, Environmental Partnerships, Inc.

"As a facilitator, I have done a lot of strategic planning with groups. I wish I could go back and redo every plan with You Get What You Measure7."

                  — Lori Higgins, University of Idaho, Dept. of Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology

"The You Get What You Measure7 training will enable me to facilitate planning among a much broader range of community groups than before. It is simple, straightforward, and builds evaluation and learning right into the process."

                  — Kerstin Gorham, Community Liaison, Northwest Area Foundation

"Becoming a Measurement Guide is a superb training program. I am very impressed with the You Get What You Measure7 process, which will work just as well with a grassroots group with little or no planning experience as it does with an organization with a sophisticated understanding of systems thinking. I would encourage anyone who uses planning and evaluation in their work to get this training."

                 — Karen Affeld, Director of Grants Planning and Administration, 

                     Rural Action, Inc.

"The You Get What You Measure7 process helped to clarify our organization's process and thinking about our next phase and it presented some concrete ideas about how we might accomplish that step.  Great stuff from a conceptual and practical standpoint!  Thanks!"

                 — Stacy Van Gorp, Project Director, Opportunity Works

 

"What I love about You Get What You Measure7 is how it initially builds on people's personal passions and interests and then very subtly helps them see where their energy can best be spent to get what they want. Thus, when what needs to happen to reach their desired goal turns out to be something they weren't so passionate about, but which is required if what they DO care about is to happen, they let go of their original thinking and are willing to invest in what is more likely to work overall.

In addition, the various conversations that happen during various parts of the process bring such incredible clarity to the whole group, that it's worth it in the creation of shared meaning, whether or not they ever do anything together (though, of course, they will!)."

 

                 — Sunny (Linda) Walker, Principal, SunWalker Enterprises

The three-day workshop will cover:

• Creating a learning community

• The power of measurement in everyday life

• Overview of the measurement process

• Measurement vocabulary

• Identifying goals

• Sizing up stakeholders

• Skilled inquiry & Skilled listening

• Understanding indicators

• Developing indicators of sustainability

 

• Introduction to systems thinking

• Analyzing indicators in a systems context

• Examining key assumptions

• Designing measures

• Connecting goals, indicators, and measures

• Planning for measurement

• Using the results of measurement

• Getting to action

 

 

Measurement Guides-in Training (left to right):  

Jon Zeltsman, Michaela Stickney, and Sunny (Linda) Walker

Following the first three days of training, guides-in-training will arrange to deliver You Get What You Measure7 on a trial basis to a client group of their choice. Our staff will observe, mentor, coach, and evaluate the trainer during a minimum of two days of practice delivery. Practice sessions will also be evaluated by participants. Based upon evaluations by staff and practice training participants, measurement guides can be certified to deliver You Get What You Measure7 under contract with Yellow Wood Associates. Only guides trained and certified by Yellow Wood Associates have the legal right to deliver You Get What You Measure7 or use any part of the You Get What You Measure7 process in their work.

Cost

  • Price varies based on revenue of the individual or organization. (Group rates are available.  Please Inquire)

  • One or two of the available slots for this training will be available for smaller organizations at discounted rates. YWA is offering a new revenue-based pricing structure for Becoming a Measurement Guide as follows:

    Per Person

    Organizations/individuals with gross annual revenues under $100,000
    $ 500
    Organizations/individuals with gross annual revenues $100,000-$400,000
    $1,000
    Organizations/individuals with gross annual revenues over $400,000
    $2,000

  • Ongoing mentoring and/or coaching for measurement guides who complete this training is available at a rate of $90/hour.

For more information,
please email Rob Petrini rob@yellowwood.org or
call 1-802-524-6141.