An AmeriCorps program connecting service members and under-resourced communities throughout Washington state
Our performance measurement goal at WSC is to accurately recognize and communicate the impact of our WSC members and project site partners to the Corporation for National and Community Service, other stakeholders, and the general public. Accurate and reliable performance measurement is instrumental in accomplishing this goal. For this reason we have developed three tools to help our project site partners plan, track, and report the performance of their AmeriCorps projects: performance plans, performance measure instructions, and tracking templates (formerly roll-up report).
Performance measure (PM) instructions contain all information related to performance measurement that a site staff person may need, including links to the appropriate performance plan, and tracking template for your focus area.
Select your AmeriCorps project focus area to find your PM instructions.
Prior to the member’s start date, WSC project sites are required to complete and submit a performance plan. In this document, site staff outline the steps they will take to collect, manage and report performance measure data. This information helps WSC ensure that project sites meet performance measure targets established within the CNCS grant.
Project sites are required to document all beneficiaries who participate in AmeriCorps project services. Project sites can use our tracking template or develop a tracking system of their own to document beneficiary outputs and outcomes. Every three months, site staff will upload their tracking document in their quarterly report to verify aggregated numbers.
Select your AmeriCorps project focus area to find your tracking template.
One common method of measuring changes in knowledge is through the use of pre and post surveys. Take a look at this video or slide deck for more info on how pre and post surveys could benefit your program.
Activities will provide support to increase the preparedness of individuals for disasters, improve individuals’ readiness to respond to disasters, help individuals recover from disasters, and/or help individuals mitigate disasters.
Service sites will provide support and/or facilitate access to services and resources that contribute to the improved economic well-being and security of economically disadvantaged people; help economically disadvantaged people to have improved access to services that enhance financial literacy; transition into or remain in safe, healthy, affordable housing; and/or have improved employability leading to increased success in becoming employed.
Projects will provide support and/or facilitate access to services and resources that contribute to improved educational outcomes for economically disadvantaged children; improved school engagement for economically disadvantaged students; improved educational and behavioral outcomes of students in low-achieving elementary, middle, and high schools; and/or support economically disadvantaged students prepare for success in post-secondary educational institutions.
Service sites will provide training services that contribute to increased energy and water efficiency, renewable energy use, or improve at-risk ecosystems, and support increased citizen behavioral change leading to increased efficiency, renewable energy use, and ecosystem improvements.
Service sites will provide support for activities that will improve access to primary and preventive health care for communities served by AmeriCorps-supported programs; increase seniors’ ability to remain in their own homes with the same or improved quality of life for as long as possible; and/or provide training to increase healthy behaviors in adults and improve nutrition in youth with the purpose of reducing childhood obesity.
Applicant-Determined Performance Measures are intended for programs whose interventions, outputs and outcomes do not fit under existing WSC Performance Measures. Programs may design performance measures that measure changes in beneficiary (knowledge, attitude, behavior, or conditions). If selecting an Applicant-Determined Performance Measure, please ensure outputs and outcomes are aligned correctly (unit of measure is the same for both outputs & outcomes), ensure that the outputs and outcomes clearly identify what is counted, clearly identify a change in knowledge, attitude, behavior or condition, ensure that the unit of measure is a number, not a percent and can be measured in a single grant year.
No video training at this time