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Asking Plenty of Questions Will Make Your Program Better

This post is really about program design questions, again. Whether you are designing a new program or trying to improve an existing program certain questions need to be asked. There may a be a few types of questions that you haven't really considered; efficiency, effectiveness, and impact are the topics of the day then.

Think about the best possible use of your resources. The program that will have the biggest impact matters, of course. How do you get the most benefit from a certain investment? You are thinking of your programs and projects as investments aren't you?

Effectiveness and efficiency are worth asking questions about. This is even more true in a cash-strapped nonprofit than in a large business with vast financial resources. Thinking about efficiency and effectiveness as criteria for designing or improving a program will only make your organization more effective.

For example, I want to start a program that educates people about how and why to recycle, and how to do it without much hassle. My goal is to increase the number of households in DC that recycle from 43% to 58% in three years. What should I do to make the most use of my time and energy? What marketing or promotional tricks would give me the best shot at the biggest increase in recycling rates? What methods, or what program, would give me the best results for my investment or time and money?

Those questions speak to effectiveness and efficiency respectively. Every program design and every program improvement really needs to be subjected to the same two questions. Being hard-nosed about your answers will only serve everyone's long-term interests.

I was reading a blurb in the Chronicle of Philanthropy newsletter this week. There was a piece on a walk for charity thing that basically questioned the effectiveness of doing that sort of fundraiser, versus pursuing another option that would also raise money. That short article led to another question worth asking about any program design or improvement effort.

Short post this time. Next week I'll get into some tools for designing innovative programs that are both effective and efficient.
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