Measure What Matters

Through the Dodge Assessment Initiative, we help organizations “measure what matters” most to them, operating on the principle that “if you measure what you value, then people will value what you measure.”

The Center for Whole Communities in Vermont has spent many years applying this thinking to the land conservation field, which is typically measured in acres, dollars, and biological diversity. Without discounting the success of land trusts over the past decade, CWC believes that the conservation movement must redefine success through a larger lens than land conservation. “Real success,” they say, “is found in conservation’s contribution to restoring our common wealth – the natural, social, civic and economic assets held in common for the well-being of all community members.”

To that end, they’ve spent years developing and refining an assessment tool called Whole Measures, which was influenced by Dodge’s assessment work and the notion that we must “measure what matters” in order to improve performance.  Dodge has supported Whole Measures as both a conceptual approach and a practical tool that can help environmentalists and others fully examine the people-land connection and make shifts in their work that strengthen ties to the land and to each other. 

Whole Measures takes a holistic, systems-thinking approach to land preservation, community building, and social justice.  In essence, it is a robust assessment rubric that can help us see how land preservation impacts a community’s vision of health and prosperity, and show us how stronger communities can help advance land preservation goals, citizen engagement and long term stewardship – all things we understand that “matter” to the New Jersey environmental community. 

The “Whole Thinking” curriculum has been tested and refined, and early adopters report transformational effects in their communities.  The Whole Measures booklet and DVD (you can download the guide) are filled with stories that capture some of the aspirational thinking from today’s leading land preservation professionals, as well as practical frames for change.

The Center for Whole Communities (CWC) is becoming a familiar name in New Jersey.  This past summer some of New Jersey’s most diverse and committed leaders working on Highlands issues convened for a Whole Thinking retreat in Vermont.  As CWC’s co-founder Peter Forbes would say, “They focused on shifting the motivating question of environmentalism from ‘How much can we protect, for how much money?’ to a new approach: ‘What is a whole community, and how do we get there together?’” 

Dodge is committed to supporting CWC’s pioneering efforts, and we hope that your organization will benefit from their visioning processes and assessment tools. For more information about Whole Measures, please visit: http://measuresofhealth.net/

 

Photographs courtesy Peter Forbes.