Who Does the Measuring?

Measurement takes time, money, and energy.

Rigorous impact studies, in particular, require careful oversight by trained professionals. So, how can your nonprofit pull one off?

There are three basic options: firms, academics, and in-house researchers.

Firms conduct trials for a fee that ranges from several thousand dollars to more than $1-million. All the nonprofit needs to do is come to the company with something measurable and the money to have it measured. In some cases, the firm will work with the nonprofit to find grant makers and others willing to pay for the experiment.

Academics are often sought by nonprofits because their presence projects independence, authority, and prestige -- not to mention that academics often work with nonprofits to raise money for the experiment.

But it’s important to realize that academics have pretty narrow interests. They’re going to measure impact for a nonprofit only if the experiment breaks new intellectual ground or helps highlight a larger truth.

“It’s something that gets at an underlying behavior,” says Rachel Glennerster, executive director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “This is what academics are interested in. Underlying behaviors are more likely to generalize than a specific program.”

In other words, academics are drawn to new approaches -- specifically those that, if proved effective, can be scaled up to push larger change. Your nonprofit may fit this bill, but if it doesn’t, don’t try to pursue the academy.

Drawing on staff members from within your organization or hiring a full-time researcher are also options for nonprofits that can afford it.