Measure, Use, Improve!


Book Description

Measure, Use, Improve! Data Use in Out-of-School Time shares the experience and wisdom from a broad cross-section of out-of-school time professionals, ranging from internal evaluators, to funders, to researchers, to policy advocates. Key themes of the volume include building support for learning and evaluation within out-of-school time programs, creating and sustaining continuous quality improvement efforts, authentically engaging young people and caregivers in evaluation, and securing funder support for learning and evaluation. This volume will be particularly useful to leadership-level staff in out-of-school time organizations that are thinking about deepening their own learning and evaluation systems, yet aren’t sure where to start. Authors share conceptual frameworks that have helped inform their thinking, walk through practical examples of how they use data in out-of-school time, and offer advice to colleagues.







Measuring Data Quality for Ongoing Improvement


Book Description

The Data Quality Assessment Framework shows you how to measure and monitor data quality, ensuring quality over time. You'll start with general concepts of measurement and work your way through a detailed framework of more than three dozen measurement types related to five objective dimensions of quality: completeness, timeliness, consistency, validity, and integrity. Ongoing measurement, rather than one time activities will help your organization reach a new level of data quality. This plain-language approach to measuring data can be understood by both business and IT and provides practical guidance on how to apply the DQAF within any organization enabling you to prioritize measurements and effectively report on results. Strategies for using data measurement to govern and improve the quality of data and guidelines for applying the framework within a data asset are included. You'll come away able to prioritize which measurement types to implement, knowing where to place them in a data flow and how frequently to measure. Common conceptual models for defining and storing of data quality results for purposes of trend analysis are also included as well as generic business requirements for ongoing measuring and monitoring including calculations and comparisons that make the measurements meaningful and help understand trends and detect anomalies. - Demonstrates how to leverage a technology independent data quality measurement framework for your specific business priorities and data quality challenges - Enables discussions between business and IT with a non-technical vocabulary for data quality measurement - Describes how to measure data quality on an ongoing basis with generic measurement types that can be applied to any situation




Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions


Book Description

Each year, more than 33 million Americans receive health care for mental or substance-use conditions, or both. Together, mental and substance-use illnesses are the leading cause of death and disability for women, the highest for men ages 15-44, and the second highest for all men. Effective treatments exist, but services are frequently fragmented and, as with general health care, there are barriers that prevent many from receiving these treatments as designed or at all. The consequences of this are seriousâ€"for these individuals and their families; their employers and the workforce; for the nation's economy; as well as the education, welfare, and justice systems. Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions examines the distinctive characteristics of health care for mental and substance-use conditions, including payment, benefit coverage, and regulatory issues, as well as health care organization and delivery issues. This new volume in the Quality Chasm series puts forth an agenda for improving the quality of this care based on this analysis. Patients and their families, primary health care providers, specialty mental health and substance-use treatment providers, health care organizations, health plans, purchasers of group health care, and all involved in health care for mental and substanceâ€"use conditions will benefit from this guide to achieving better care.




Software Process Improvement: Metrics, Measurement, and Process Modelling


Book Description

C. Amting Directorate General Information Society, European Commission, Brussels Under the 4th Framework of European Research, the European Systems and Soft ware Initiative (ESSI) was part of the ESPRIT Programme. This initiative funded more than 470 projects in the area' of software and system process improvements. The majority of these projects were process improvement experiments carrying out and taking up new development processes, methods and technology within the software development process of a company. In addition, nodes (centres of exper tise), European networks (organisations managing local activities), training and dissemination actions complemented the process improvement experiments. ESSI aimed at improving the software development capabilities of European enterprises. It focused on best practice and helped European companies to develop world class skills and associated technologies to build the increasingly complex and varied systems needed to compete in the marketplace. The dissemination activities were designed to build a forum, at European level, to exchange information and knowledge gained within process improvement ex periments. Their major objective was to spread the message and the results of experiments to a wider audience, through a variety of different channels. The European Experience Exchange ~UR~X) project has been one of these dis semination activities within the European Systems and Software Initiative.~UR~X has collected the results of practitioner reports from numerous workshops in Europe and presents, in this series of books, the results of Best Practice achieve ments in European Companies over the last few years.







Handbook of Improving Performance in the Workplace, Measurement and Evaluation


Book Description

HANDBOOK of IMPROVING PERFORMANCE IN THE WORKPLACE Volume 3: Measurement and Evaluation Volume Three of the Handbook of Improving Performance in the Workplace focuses on Measurement and Evaluation and represents an invaluable addition to the literature that supports the field and practice of Instructional Systems Design. With contributions from leading national scholars and practitioners, this volume is filled with information on time-tested theories, leading-edge research, developments, and applications and provides a comprehensive review of the most pertinent information available on critical topics, including: Measuring and Evaluating Learning and Performance, Designing Evaluation, Qualitative and Quantitative Performance Measurements, Evidence-based Performance Measurements, Analyzing Data, Planning Performance Measurement and Evaluation, Strategies for Implementation, Business Evaluation Strategy, Measurement and Evaluation in Non-Profit Sectors, among many others. It also contains illustrative case studies and performance support tools. Sponsored by International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI), the Handbook of Improving Performance in the Workplace, three-volume reference, covers three core areas of interest including Instructional Design and Training Delivery, Selecting and Implementing Performance Interventions, and Measurement and Evaluation.




Measuring and Improving Social Impacts


Book Description

Identifying, measuring and improving social impact is a significant challenge for corporate and private foundations, charities, NGOs and corporations. How best to balance possible social and environmental benefits (and costs) against one another? How does one bring clarity to multiple possibilities and opportunities? Based on years of work and new field studies from around the globe, the authors have written a book for managers that is grounded in the best academic and managerial research.It is a practical guide that describes the steps needed for identifying, measuring and improving social impact. This approach is useful in maximizing the impact of different types of investments, including grants and donations, impact investments, and commercial investments.With numerous examples of actual organizational approaches, research into more than fifty organizations, and extensive practical guidance and best practices, Measuring and Improving Social Impacts fills a critical gap.




It Takes an Ecosystem


Book Description

It Takes an Ecosystem explores the idea and potential of the Allied Youth Fields—an aspirational term that suggests increased connection across the multiple systems in which adults engage with young people. Recent research and initiatives make a strong case for what developmentalists have argued for decades: A young person’s learning and development is shaped in positive and negative ways by the interactions they have with all the adults in their life. Now is the time to reshape our systems to support this scientific understanding. The chapters in this book provide ideas, tools, examples, and visions for a more connected, more equitable world for young people and the adults in their lives. Endorsements for It Takes an Ecosystem "It Takes an Ecosystem offers a powerful and timely engagement of the possibilities and challenges facing the Out-of-School Time sector…this book charts a path forward for scholars, practitioners, community members to imagine OST anew---in ways that are socially just and affirming, centered on the optimal development of youth and the power of community." — Bianca Baldridge University of Wisconsin Madison "The book’s emphasis on an ecosystem approach, anchored in commitments to equity and racial justice, combines evidence-based analyses with a future-oriented call to action for the allied youth fields. This book will be a must-read for those committed to radically re-thinking how we bring sectors together to support thriving for children and youth." Ben Kirshner University of Colorado




Quality Improvement: A Guide for Integration in Nursing


Book Description

Quality Improvement A Guide for Integration in Nursing, Second Edition is an integral resource for both nursing students and professionals. Quality improvement is a crucial part of healthcare and one that nurses are charged with implementing daily as they care for patients.