The philanthropic field is continuing to evolve around performance, outcomes and results. It is not enough to just say we do good work. It is not enough to do good work but have no way of measuring results. In consultations with clients often times one question can be asked which tells the tale. How many people did you serve today? Unfortunately, the response is a blank stare and then some rumbling about I think we do this and that. How does your  agency know it is having an impact?

Funding organizations are being more explicit in their approach to uncovering and measuring results. In the District of Columbia recently a funder has begun requiring that agencies produce a valid external evaluation that has occurred within the last five years as a condition for competing for funding through an RFP. Sitting through the pre-bid conference on this opportunity it was amazing to see a number of organizations that could not imagine why they should  be subjected to such scrutiny. For some it was a foreign concept. Formative and summative evaluation of programs are a necessity to ensure fidelity to program goals and outcomes. In other recent publications and RFPs most funders want to measure results, outcomes and impact. To be a high performing an agency the organization has to demonstrate that it is more than just great people doing great things.