Obama Victory Has Nonprofit Measurement Lesson

Nonprofit organizations can learn a lot from the way the Obama campaign approached performance measurement, argues a recent blog in the "Stanford Social Innovation Review." Here are what the authors see as the key lessons from President Obama's successful election effort: focusing on cost-per-outcome; using the best research and expertise to design campaigns; segmenting and micro-targeting voters and donors; investing in a cross-functional data system; and making measurement a priority investment. The blog article concludes with a question: "What do you believe it will take for nonprofits to follow a similar course in their measurement approaches?" To simply answer "more money" can be self-defeating, so we would pose the challenge as how spending can be reallocated for more effective data and performance measurement. For the complete discussion, go to http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/what_obamas_campaign_can_teach_nonprofits_about_measurement