Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) Programs: Measuring Success in Your BRE Program1
Henry M. Cothran2
Introduction
What gets measured gets done. – Peter Drucker
When communities, businesses, and organizations realize they need a vision for the future and a road map for how to get there, a typical response is to initiate a strategic planning process (Cothran and Clouser 2006). Many go so far as to set goals and write a plan. Some will implement their plans by completing projects; some will not. Even fewer will go so far as to develop indicators of success, collect baseline data, and implement a process to measure progress toward achieving the goals of their plan.
One of the reasons people or organizations fail to evaluate their programs is because the process can sometimes be quite mystifying. Terms like outcome, objective, or strategy are used interchangeably, leading to confusion on the part of those who are involved in the process. Another reason organizations skip the evaluation part of planning is because successful completion of a project is “good enough” and very little attention is paid to questioning whether or not the activity actually moved the organization closer to its desired outcomes.
This publication is ninth in a series on establishing Business Retention and Expansion programs. The publications in this series can be found online at the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/TOPIC_SERIES_BRE.
Measurement Guidelines
Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted. – Albert Einstein
Decide What Can and Should Be Measured
Some measures might be easy to collect but provide little information about whether an activity actually moved the program toward accomplishment of a goal. On the other hand, some measures might be very useful but be impossible to collect. It is important to balance the need to know with the ability to find out. You make this decision based on available resources, including time, money, and the relative value of the information.
Choose the "Real" Measure of the Goal
If your goal is to keep young people from leaving the community by providing more local jobs, a measurement as simple as increasing total employment is probably not a good indicator. If the job increase is solely attributable to increases in part-time, minimum wage jobs, that may not really be the desired outcome. A measure such as the increase in manufacturing jobs might be better.
Focus on Positive Outcomes
An increase in employment in a community may also be an indicator that unemployment decreased. So which measure should be reported? Both measures involve value judgments, but increasing jobs may be viewed as the more positive measure to report.
Measure the Progress; Don't Count Activities
If your goal is to revitalize the downtown, the number of meetings on this topic is not a measure of progress, but a count of activities. Measuring the number of merchants who initiate recommended actions is a more appropriate measure (albeit a more expensive one to collect).
Conduct Intermediate "Checks" on Progress
Using this same illustration, it would be acceptable to report that a number of workshops were conducted because these provide evidence that you are on track toward achieving your overall goal. You might also evaluate the content, timing, and location of specific workshops to determine changes that need to be made to increase merchant involvement.
Balance the Number of Measures
There is no “correct” number of measures for any one goal. The only constraints are dictated by the time and effort needed to identify the baseline information, and the resources (personnel, time, and money) to track and collect the information needed to document change in the measure. To this end, it also helps to have a limited number of clearly stated measures that are easily related to the goal to be achieved.
Use Commonly Accepted and Clearly Defined Measurement Terms
In evaluation literature, it is not uncommon to see various measurement activities called by more than one name. For example, one guide might define the term “goal” the same way another guide defines “outcome” or “objective.” Thus, it is important to use agreed upon terminology and definitions. Table 1 defines the most common terms used in developing a series of measures for your business retention and expansion (BRE) program. Using these terms as they are defined in this table provides you and your BRE partners and team members with a common language for the process of evaluating progress and success.
Use a Checklist
You cannot manage what you cannot measure – Lord Kelvin
Most programs identify one or more goals before considering how success might be measured. It is important, however, to keep in mind that measuring success must begin before activities are undertaken because a baseline from which to measure change must be identified. Evaluation must also take place throughout the life of the program. With that in mind, it may be useful to establish a measurement checklist to ensure that your program establishes measures for a logical and complete process. Table 2 illustrates a checklist that can be followed for each goal in the program.
Conclusion
It is important to demonstrate that your BRE program is producing results for the community. This information is important for the BRE program leader, partners, funders, business owner/operators, and the community as a whole. Understanding how to select measures and collect information to evaluate the success of your program is a key characteristic of successful BRE programs. Using agreed upon language, a logical process, and a balanced number of measures can make your program more productive and successful.
References
Cothran, Henry M. and Rodney Clouser. 2006. Strategic Planning for Communities, Non-profit Organizations, and Public Agencies. Electronic Data Information Source (EDIS) FE648. Food and Resource Economics Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FE648.
Lynch, Clifford F. 2003. No Desperate Measures. DC Velocity (January). http://www.cflynch.com/layouts/layout_3_1_publications/layout_3_1_1_articles/layout_NO_Desperate_MEASURES.html.
North Central Regional Center for Rural Development. 1999. Measuring Community Success and Sustainability: An Interactive Workbook. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press.
Woods, Mike and Suzette Barta. 1999. Evaluating Your Economic Development Project. AGEC-582. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma state University, Stillwater, OK.
Woods, Mike, Jack Frye, and Stan Ralstin. 1999. Blueprints for Your Community's Future: Creating a Strategic Plan for Local Economic Development. WR-916. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK.
Tables
Common terms used to develop BRE program measures.
Term |
Definition |
Example |
| Goal | A goal is the condition the program wants to achieve. It should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. | Continually identify and train new visitation team members |
| Objective | An objective is a measurable result that must be achieved (typically within one year or less) to achieve the objective. | Train 10 team members this year |
| Activity | An activity is the effort that is undertaken to achieve the objective. | Training sessions |
| Indicator | An indicator is something that must be changed or achieved by the activity in order to claim progress toward the goal. |
Total number of team members |
| Measure | A measure is how you count or value the status of an indicator. | Change in team members |
| Unit | A unit defines what is counted. | Team members trained |
| Baseline | The baseline defines the value of a measure at the starting point. | Team members at the beginning of the year |
Checklist for establishing BRE program goals.
For each goal, answer and check off the following: |
|
What is the goal? |
|
What are the objectives related to the goal? |
|
What activities are related to the objective? |
|
What is the indicator that must be achieved? |
|
How will you measure the status of the indicator? |
|
What is the unit of measure related to this indicator? |
|
What is the baseline value for this measure? |
|
Will there be opportunities to do intermediate checks? |
|
Where is the information? |
|
How will this information be obtained? |
|
Who will collect the information? |
|
How many hours will it take to collect the information? |
|
Will they be paid to collect the information? |
|
When will the information be collected? |
|
How will progress from the baseline be measured? |
|
How can this information be used to achieve the program's goal? |
|
Footnotes
This document is FE658, one of a series of the Food and Resource Economics Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date August 2006. Reviewed September 2012. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.
Henry M. Cothran, associate professor, Food and Resource Economics Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal
Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational
information and other services only to individuals and institutions
that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed,
color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital
status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations.
For more information on obtaining other extension publications,
contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service,
University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative
Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place,
Dean.
