We gather evidence because this information can work like a type of compass, giving us guidance on how far we are from our selected destination. To use the compass, we must know where we are heading and the approach we are taking to get there. Every peer program will have a different journey, though they will be founded on the rights of people living with disability and should consider the principles of good practice (Davy et al, 2018). Each peer support program will develop its own compass for their unique journey. The ‘track’ your peer program is taking will be specific to your program, therefore you will need to customize the way you collect your evidence. We need to have a system to individually tailor the compass to our needs through measures and goals we select.
Selecting performance measures that make sense to each unique peer program is a challenge. There are an enormous range of models and approaches to performance management, but in this resource we are using the relatively simple and intuitive Balances Scorecard (BSC). Developed by Kaplan and Norton (1992, 1996), this model has been found by many to be effective, particularly for ensuring that measures relate to the specific vision and mission of the organisation. The BSC, as with most performance management methodologies, requires identifying a vision, mission and strategy for the peer program. This ensures that the performance measures developed in each perspective support accomplishment of the peer program’s strategic objectives. It also helps team members visualise and understand the links between the performance measures and successful accomplishment of strategic goals.
The original BSC translates an organisation’s vision into a set of performance objectives distributed among four perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Business Processes, and Learning and Growth. In the peer program context, as we discussed in Module 3, we selected four more appropriate perspectives to use in our compass: Funders, Members, Build and Learning:
By using the BSC, a peer program can structure a compass which considers a range of dimensions and is able to monitors both its current performance (budgetary management, member satisfaction, and other) and its efforts to improve processes, motivate and develop team members, utilise the most effective resources, and still consider its ability to learn and prepare for an uncertain future. We must ask ‘what must the peer program do well for this stakeholder/perspective to reach their identified vision’? For each objective that must be performed well, it is necessary to identify measures and set goals covering a reasonable time frame.
Taking each perspective in turn, the process involves considering the following questions:
- What does the peer program need to provide (or deliver) to this stakeholder?
- What does this stakeholder most value or need?
- What benefits do we hope to achieve from this stakeholder?
- How can we collect evidence on these needs and whether or not we are meeting them?
It is important that, for each perspective and each objective, we make sure they are related to the strategy and mission of the peer program. In other words, will achieving this objective help us to be closer to our desired future destination? Our unique ‘compass’ is designed by thinking about each perspective individually, and then bringing this all together. Figure (1) provides an overview of the BSC methodology to illustrate the design of each peer program’s unique compass.
Once we have this approach clear, we can continue to delve further into the development of the strategic objectives that could sit within each of these perspectives. Understanding what needs to be done to complete the suggested matrices is relatively straightforward; developing the contents of each matrix is the hard part. Remember, when deciding on the sort of things you want to focus on, and ultimately measure, it is important to ensure that they link directly to the strategic vision of the peer program. When thinking about goals and their possible measures, consider whether (or not) achievement of the identified goal will help your peer program achieve its vision.
The steps you will take along each of the four BSC perspectives will involve:
- Identifying key objectives within the perspective, ensuring we select goals that will help your unique program to meet its vision.
- For each objective, at least one measure is selected and defined.
- For each measure, the who, what and when of that measurement must be outlined along with a target measure (if that is relevant given the measurement method and approach).
- Finally, to reach any targets, you will consider if you need any initiatives established to perform at this level.
Each objective within a perspective should be supported by at least one measure that will indicate an organization’s performance against that objective. Define measures precisely, including the population to be measured, the method of measurement, the data source, and the ideal time-period for the measurement. These details will be used when we put together our evidence gathering program.
When developing measures, it is important to include a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures. Quantitative measures provide more objectivity than qualitative measures. If a quantitative measure is feasible and realistic, then its use should be encouraged as they may help to justify critical management decisions on resource allocation (e.g. budget and staffing) or systems improvement. Qualitative measures involve matters of perception, and therefore of subjectivity. Nevertheless, they are an integral part of the BSC methodology. Judgements based on the experience of funders, members, team members and community members offer important insights into peer program performance and its success. In fact, asking peer group members about their experiences was a primary method of collecting evidence used within peer programs delivered under the DSO (Disability Support Organisation) NDIA funded project.