January 22, 2019
Strengthening the Sports-Based Youth Development Sector with Measurement and Evaluation
PYSC firmly believes in the importance of measuring what you do. We expect our members to always work towards better evaluation methods, and we speak with our members about their program goals and outcomes and how they track progress. Our partners at Temple University’s School of Sport, Hospitality, and Tourism Management have shared their expertise in program evaluation with our members regularly, even helping develop logic models to be sure a program is producing the desired results.
Many of those in the social sector wish there were more time or resources to demonstrate the impact of our work. PYSC is so glad to see the RISE Partnership (Readiness, Implementation, and Sustainability for Effectiveness) launched at the Scattergood Foundation, and recently reported on by the Philadelphia Inquirer: http://www.philly.com/business/are-philly-area-nonprofits-really-making-difference-foundations-put-up-million-find-out-20190116.html. The RISE Partnership makes a powerful statement to funders that organizations must be supported in achieving best practices in measurement and evaluation.
Measurement and evaluation to ensure quality are key recommendations of the Task Force on Sports-Based Youth Development. PYSC has research and partnerships underway to ensure robust measurement processes are in place for all sports-based youth development providers in Philadelphia as part of the Game On Philly! plan. Review the full list of recommendations and plans on page 29 of the Game On Philly! report here.