An overview of the National Performance Measures

118 NOVEMBER 2011

THE CORPORATION OF NATIONAL & COMMUNITY SERVICE

Description of Focus Area Priority and Pilot Measures Evidence Basis for Intervention Aligned Performance Measures Resources

It will be helpful to have the 2012 National Performance Measures Instructions for Veterans and Military Families open as you review this presentation. It can be found here: http://www.americorps.gov/for_organizations/funding/nofa_detail.asp?tbl_nofa_id=91

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Demonstrate the potential for CNCS-supported national service interventions to positively impact the quality of life of veterans and improve military family strength.

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Grant activities will increase:• The number of veterans and military service

members and their families served by CNCS-supported programs, and

• The number of veterans and military family members engaged in service provision through CNCS-supported programs.

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National Performance Measures are organized into five Tiers

Priority Measures (Tiers 1 & 2) roll up into the CNCS strategic plan

Pilot Measures (Tier 3) are additional national performance measures in the Focus Areas

Tiers 4 and 5 are for applicants not using national measures

Veterans and Military Families measures fall into Tier 1 (Priority Measures) and Tier 3 (Pilot Measures)

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V1: Number of veterans that received CNCS-supported assistanceV8: Number of veterans’ family members that received CNCS-supported assistanceV7: Number of family members of active duty military service members that received CNCS-supported assistanceV9: Number of active duty military service members that received CNCS-supported assistanceV2: Number of veterans engaged in service opportunitiesV10: Number of military family members engaged in service opportunities as a national Service Participant or volunteer

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If an applicant has a program model focused on providing assistance to Veterans and Military Families, or engaging them in service, they MUST select from the priority measures provided.

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• V1 & V10 differ from the others measures because they treat Veterans as a service population, not recipients of service.

• Applicants that have programs that fit these Priority Measures are required to utilize them.

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V3: Number of veterans assisted in pursuing educational opportunitiesV4: Number of veterans assisted in receiving professional certification, licensure, or credentialsV6: Number of housing units developed, repaired, or otherwise made available for veterans

Note: There are no Tier 2 Veterans measures.

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In addition to documenting that the need exists, programs must describe how the interventions the AmeriCorps members and volunteers are engaged in are both evidence-based and will have a measureable impact.

The term “evidence-based” refers to data that supports the presence of a cause and effect relationship between the intervention and the outcome.

The evidence provided must support the program’s theory of change, which articulates why the intervention (member and volunteer activities) will lead to the outcomes identified by the program.

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Sources of Evidence May Include:Past performance measurement dataResults from an impact evaluation of the programResearch studies documenting the outcomes of similar programsEvaluations documenting the outcomes of similar programs

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Programs must have at least one aligned performance measure that captures the measurable impact of their primary service activity.

Aligned measures have two key components: Output and Outcome

Alignment refers to whether:◦ The outcome is likely to result from the intervention

and output, and ◦ Whether the output and outcome measure the same

population.

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Outputs are counts of the amount of service that members or volunteers have completed.

For example: Number of veterans engaged in service opportunities

They do not provide information on benefits to or other changes in the lives of members and/or beneficiaries.

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Outcomes specify changes that have occurred in the lives of members and/or beneficiaries. For example: The change that occurs in veterans as a result of engaging in service opportunities

They should be:RealisticMeasurable during grant periodRelevant to theory of change

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Outcomes measure changes in:AttitudeBehaviorCondition

Most programs should aim to measure a quantifiable change in behavior or condition

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Since there are no national Veterans outcome measures, applicants and grantees will be required to develop their own outcome that is aligned with the selected national output.

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Veterans are

having challenges identifying educational opportunitie

s

Community Need

Intermediate

Outcome

OutputMember Activity

AmeriCorps members

provide one-on-

one counseling

on educationa

l opportunit

ies and resources

to veterans

V3: Number of veterans assisted in pursuing

educational opportuniti

es

Number of veterans

who enrolled in

college classes

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2012 National Performance Measures Instructionshttp://www.americorps.gov/for_organizations/funding/nofa_detail.asp?tbl_nofa_id=91

Other Performance Measurement Resources, including Webinars and Sample Instrumentswww.nationalservice.gov/resources/npm/home

Information on the AmeriCorps Grant Competitionsamericorpsgrants@cns.gov or 202.606.7508

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