4 Strategies That Nonprofits Can Use to Build Evidence-Based Programs

When nonprofit organizations use data and evidence effectively, their work can have a stronger and more meaningful impact on their communities, partners, and clients.

Since 2018, more than 50 Pew Fund for Health and Human Services in Philadelphia grantees in the Greater Philadelphia area have participated in The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Evaluation Capacity Building Initiative (ECBI) to learn how to collect, analyze, and use data to strengthen their programs and services to enhance their impact on the communities they serve.

As a result of what they have learned through the ECBI, grantees have made significant changes to their strategic plans, organizational structures, data collection practices, and cultures of equity and learning. From these experiences, Pew has identified four strategies that nonprofits can use to build their evidence base and evaluation approach. They are:

Strategy 1. Build and deploy equitable evaluation practices

The process of equitable evaluation uses data as a tool to advance equity for the people and community that an organization serves. There are many elements to equitable evaluation, but at its core, it means that the participants in research (i.e., those being studied) should be able to collaborate in the process and benefit from the data gathered. One example of an organization committed to this principle is Heights Philadelphia, a Pew growth grantee.

Heights, which creates pathways to college and careers for low-income middle- and high school students, developed a “theory of change” by engaging those with the greatest expertise in youth development and education—young people themselves and the Heights staff members who work with them. The theory of change explains how Heights programs contribute to student success and provides a way to understand and hold the organization and its leaders accountable for the results they want to achieve.

Its engagement with young people has helped Heights to expand its definition of success—from one that focused on pursuing a bachelor’s degree to one that also includes other pathways, such as workforce development programs or two-year associate degrees. Dr. Kali Avans, a Heights graduate who is now a Philadelphia educator, says the organization taught him the importance of “networking, being resourceful, and multitasking,” among many other skills that helped him to get to where he is today.

Strategy 2. Collect and use data on an ongoing basis

Data collection, as with other organizational functions such as recruiting staff or raising funds, requires ongoing focus and investment. Data can help an organization understand its impact, make improvements, and tell its story to generate support among partners and funders.

For example, the Maternal and Child Health Consortium (MCHC), which serves communities in Chester County, Pennsylvania, recently made an important investment in its ability to collect and use data. MCHC helps families build a strong foundation for health and well-being starting from pregnancy through early childhood development. Organization leaders are committed to using data to evaluate program performance, improve quality, and drive strategic decisions.

With the assistance of the ECBI technical grant program, MCHC invested in a case management system—technology that tracks the needs of participants and helps staff to see trends across programs. For example, recent data identified a significant rise in the number of families that were food insecure. Based on this information, MCHC worked to strengthen its partnership with the Chester County Food Bank and now provides families with nutritious food boxes during home visits. This integration between organizations helps address immediate needs while reinforcing MCHC’s holistic support approach to family well-being.

Strategy 3. Consider if and when to conduct an external evaluation

External evaluations are often conducted when an organization needs an independent, fresh, or objective perspective on how well it is fulfilling its mission. Sometimes called a third-party evaluation, this process can also provide an opportunity to use specialized evaluation methods. Teach Plus encourages teachers to become leaders and empowers them to create an equitable education system for students. The organization is participating in the ECBI to understand the impact of its Philadelphia Affinity Group Network (PAGN). The network creates safe, supportive spaces for teachers of color with the ultimate goal of improving retention of these critical educators in the Philadelphia school system.

With assistance from the ECBI, Teach Plus is partnering with Research for Action, a Philadelphia-based education research nonprofit, to plan an evaluation to measure and validate the PAGN model, to conduct the evaluation, and then to analyze the program’s impact. Based on the analysis, Research for Action will produce a brief that identifies lessons and recommendations for PAGN and other organizations working to improve teacher retention.

Strategy 4. Prove impact, consider scaling opportunities

Pew seeks to help organizations use data and evidence for decision-making. Although the business world can define success through profit margins, nonprofits think about impact in different ways, including financial, system change, and most importantly the effects on the communities and clients they serve. With help from the ECBI, Turning Points for Children worked to expand its LifeSet program. As the program grew, leaders felt that Turning Points needed to understand the program’s influence on its target populations: young adults, ages 17-23, who are leaving the foster care, juvenile justice, and mental health systems, or who would otherwise find themselves without the necessary skills and resources to live healthy, independent lives at this critical juncture.

Turning Points staff, with help from the ECBI, analyzed data to understand how the program benefited these populations and whether there were differences among them. The results of the analyses demonstrated that the program was successful in helping youth achieve their goals of housing permanency, education, employment, and building basic independent living skills, irrespective of where they “started.”

Based on these analyses, Turning Points worked with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office to launch a program in 2022 for teens arrested on minor charges, with the goal to reduce the number of youth in the city’s criminal justice system. Now called ReUp215, this youth diversion program has become one of the first in the country to partner with a large-city D.A.’s office. And, since beginning 18 months ago, it has helped to successfully discharge 70% of the teen participants initially arrested without further criminal justice involvement.

Each of these four strategies can help organizations get started and progress through their evaluation journeys. It’s important to remember, though, that the changes from evaluation capacity-building work will be incremental, because shifting practices and mindsets takes time. But it will be time well spent and critical to making programs more beneficial for the people who rely on them.

Moving into 2025, Pew will continue to work with its grantee partners to focus on data and evaluation as a tool to strengthen organizations that support the Philadelphians who need help the most. These examples and stories are reminders that the more support the region’s children and youth receive on their paths to success, the more the entire area will thrive.

Meridith Polin oversees the Evaluation Capacity Building Initiative for the Pew Fund for Health and Human Services in Philadelphia.