General
Let’s design a better future, together.
We envision a future where all communities in the U.S. have the technology tools to measurably advance economic mobility.
Less than 3% of philanthropic investments go to technology support for Place Based Partnerships.
Data and technology infrastructure and scaffolding is required for all social impact programming, but is often underfunded and overlooked. Right now, there are enormous opportunities for the organizations and leaders who can clearly articulate and prove which interventions and programs are working, and what approaches led to great results.
Measure Well is a co-partner in helping Place Based Partnerships and cradle-to-career organizations tackle and rise to the challenge. We believe leaders deserve the best tools and technology, easier ways to understand and share what is working, and more opportunities to learn from each other. Our role is to help connect the dots and co-design solutions to solve tough problems.
Our areas of focus
We help Place Based Partnership networks, intermediaries, backbones, and the communities they serve, understand what interventions, programs, and investments are working to improve outcomes across seven cradle-to-career competencies in communities across the United States: preschool readiness, elementary reading, middle school math, high school graduation, postsecondary attendance, and job attainment.
The idea behind Measure Well
We believe organizations who can effectively communicate their impact are better positioned to secure additional investment in their communities. Measure Well partners with cradle-to-career organizations and Place Based Partnerships across the U.S. to create scalable and repeatable data, technology and AI solutions, and strengthen team skilling and capacity to make data-driven decisions that lead to even better community outcomes.
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What is a Place Based Partnership?
A Place Based Partnership is a group of organizations working together to improve outcomes in a specific community.
That might include K-12 schools, colleges, universities, nonprofits, local government, employers, and community leaders working toward shared goals.
These partnerships understand that no single organization can solve complex community challenges alone. Measure Well supports the people leading that this work
FAQs about Measure Well
Learn about our mission, our partners, and how we work with Place Based Partnerships.
What is Measure Well?
Measure Well is an organization dedicated to helping cradle-to-career Place Based Partnerships (PBPs) leverage data and technology through training, repeatable tools and resources, and 1:1 support, so they can help drive change in their communities. Our goal is to empower community organizations, backbones, partnerships, intermediaries, and nonprofits to apply exemplary data practices and cutting-edge technology to boost educational and economic success in communities across the United States. Learn more about what Place Based Partnerships are and how they help their communities here.
What kinds of organizations does Measure Well serve?
Today, Measure Well partners with U.S.-based cradle-to-career Place Based Partnerships. These are networks of organizations and individuals working together to improve outcomes in a specific community, region, or state on 'cradle to career' and economic challenges, including education and economic opportunity.
Examples of these organizations might be K-12 schools, colleges, universities, nonprofits, local governments, employers, and community leaders working toward shared goals.
For deep partnership, we are currently focused on supporting organizations that have at least one data staff member. However, we encourage all organizations that are interested to contact us.
Why is it so challenging for community partnerships and organizations to gain insight from their data?
Nonprofit and community partnerships face significant hurdles when it comes to effectively measuring, understanding, and learning from data and outcomes. Roughly two-thirds of all cradle-to-career Place Based Partnerships in the United States do not have full-time data or technology staff today (Source: Measure Well).
Data management and access is often too costly, complex, or technical, and many groups also start from scratch, with few or no team members with data expertise, skills, or adequate funding to train staff on data and technology best practices. Work is also siloed across organizations and community groups, putting more of a burden on individual teams and leaders and making it harder to share and learn what works. In other words, they’re doing a huge amount of heroic work without repeatable and exemplary resources or support.
Measure Well aims to change this reality by building repeatable, tech-enabled tools and resources that cradle-to-career leaders can use and learn from. Most importantly, the more groups work together to pool shared knowledge and tips, the more effective the wider community can be. Collectively, we can act as a force multiplier when we work together.
Latest Resources and Impact Stories
Perspectives and resources from Measure Well on data, technology, and community outcomes work.
