STRATEGIC PLAN 

LETS GO collects data (and has been for 13 years) from multiple sources including:

• Activity data (on a Program Data Form with multiple tabs after every activity has been completed)

• Pre- and post-content assessments (questions asked of youths before and after an activity to measure what and how much they learned)

• Instructor Training Workshop data (on a Program Data Form with multiple tabs after every workshop has been completed)

• Instructor Workshop Evaluation surveys (requesting instructors to complete after a workshop has been completed)

• Partner Satisfaction surveys (requesting partners to complete once a year)

All activity and workshop data collected are entered into the LETS GO database.  Survey results are maintained in Google Drive.  After each semester and at the end of the school year, the Data and Evaluation Director produces a Metrics Report for each LETS GO region and for organization wide.  The Metrics Reports tell LETS GO how much we did that semester or year, how well did we do it, and if anyone is better off (Results-Based Accountability, https://clearimpact.com/results-based-accountability)

In addition, LETS GO has a partnership with the Partnership in Education and Resilience (PEAR), Inc.  Once a year, LETS GO surveys its youth (for whom we have permission) to understand if we are meeting our goals, if we are doing well, and if we are having an impact on the youth we serve.  PEAR uses the survey data we input into their database to produce statistical analyses and graphs.  LETS GO expects to see positive correlations between LETS GO learning experiences and various social and intellectual aspects.

One of LETS GO’s goals in its Strategic Plan is to “become an evidenced-based organization.” LETS GO has been collecting a lot of data for many years.  However, we are just now using evidence-based practices (EBP) to evaluate our data and assess whether we are obtaining our desired outcomes as described in our Logic Model and Strategic Plan goals and objectives.  We have established a structured approach described in our Guidelines for Data Collection and Evaluation.  The LETS GO Data and Evaluation Director produces Metric Reports after every semester and annually for all of LETS GO’s regions and for organization-wide.  By analyzing the data represented in those reports, the Data and Evaluation Director produces another report called a Data and Evaluation Annual Summary Report.  In those reports, the Director tells the stories she develops from the data visualized in the Metrics Reports.  The stories include evidence in the form of graphs that we are meeting our strategic goals and objectives and reaching desired outcomes as described in our logic models.  The Analytics Reports are reviewed and discussed by LETS GO Education Managers and Directors.  At the highest level, we ask if we are meeting our mission, our goals and objectives, and desired outcomes.  At different levels, we ask questions such as:  Do we need to improve or update any of our curricula; are we providing enough training for our instructors to build their confidence teaching STEM; Are all our partners satisfied with the services we provide?  The answers to our many questions will tell us where any issues lie so we can develop solutions to improve weak areas.