Measuring Impact Is Easier Than You Think. Start with Progress.Most climate, equity, and community programs I work with have clear ambitions. They often know where they want to go: more resilient communities, more equitable access, stronger local economies. They often have a destination. What many lack is a reliable dashboard to track their progress. Imagine taking a long road trip by focusing only on the final address, while rarely checking fuel, traffic, or warning lights. Most of us would never drive that way. We check the fuel level (or battery charge if you drive an EV), watch traffic conditions, and plan stops along the way to recharge or refuel. Yet many programs operate exactly like this. They focus almost entirely on the ultimate destination (e.g. reducing GHGs by 16 percent, creating 5,000 jobs) while failing to consistently track and measure their gradual progress along the route. They invest heavily in defining long-term “impact,” but far less in deliberately tracking and measuring progress along the way. Are You Measuring Progress, or Just Hoping for Impact?Strong programs don’t just hope they are on track. They build systems to monitor whether they are actually moving in the right direction. They track progress regularly: monthly, quarterly, and at key decision points. They measure: Whether partnerships are forming Whether implementation is speeding up or slowing down Whether barriers are being reduced
These are not secondary metrics. They are early signals of future impact. From “Did It Work?” to “Is It Working?”Traditional evaluation focuses on: Did this program work? Progress tracking focuses on: Is this program working, right now?
That shift only happens when teams commit to measuring progress, not just reporting outputs. The ultimate impact will always matter. But impact without systematic progress tracking is just hope. The programs that succeed over time don’t just set destinations. They intentionally measure if and how they are getting there. Measuring Impact Is Easier Than You Think. Start with Progress.
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