Learning & Evaluation
The National Fund tracks results, measures value for its stakeholders, and leverages information and evaluations to learn and share insights throughout its network. Its Learning and Evaluation Framework summarizes the approach.
Measuring Our Value and the Effectiveness of Our Approach
The National Fund seeks to serve multiple stakeholders including individuals, employers, and communities, while also working to improve workforce and labor systems through its “systems change” efforts. These evaluations explore the National Fund’s value to individuals, businesses, and communities including changes to education and workforce systems.
It has measured the effectiveness of its programs against traditional workforce programs with its Social Innovation Fund-supported evaluation of partnership programs in Wisconsin and Ohio. It measures its value to employers through business impact studies and business surveys.
The National Fund also recognizes private and non-profit employers with its Frontline Healthcare Worker Champion program and documents their successful training and development practices. Finally, the National Fund has developed rubric for measuring “systems change” and it tracks its “system change” accomplishments by reporting on hundreds of improvements made to the policies, practices, and systems of businesses, education, and training providers; philanthropic organizations; and public institutions that shape the economic and workforce landscape.
Deepening Our Learning
The National Fund network is focused on using evidence to drive innovation and uses multiple strategies to continuously evaluate, learn from, and improve its work. It operates learning groups of its collaborative directors on key issues like generating good jobs, serving young adults, and utilizing apprenticeships. It organizes meetings of business, community-based organizations and workforce practitioners to foster sharing and collaboration. It maintains a robust archive of local and national evaluations recording the success, challenges, methodology, and impact of its initiatives and investments. In each region partners and staff engage with providers and local evaluators to strive to continuously learn and improve programs.