Measure What Matters (by Elevate What Matters) https://melissas2.podbean.com The purpose and focus of this podcast are to dive into various topics of impact and measurement from the perspectives of evaluators, evaluation funders, and those participating in evaluations. These are three critical and essential perspectives that this podcast will elevate. Join us for lively examples and discussions about how we figure out, within specific contexts, programs, and policies, what to measure. We promise to throw some fun into the mix.

]]> Sat, 01 Aug 2026 14:59:15 -0500 https://podbean.com/?v=5.5 en Copyright 2026 All rights reserved. Science:Social Sciences 1440 episodic melissas2 melissas2 No false https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/22506796/Podbean_specs_logo.jpg Measure What Matters (by Elevate What Matters) https://melissas2.podbean.com 144 144 Program Evaluation Behind the Scenes: Dr. Liz Hollingworth on What Gets Measured, Why It Matters, and How Funding Shapes Outcomes Program Evaluation Behind the Scenes: Dr. Liz Hollingworth on What Gets Measured, Why It Matters, and How Funding Shapes Outcomes https://melissas2.podbean.com/e/exploring-education-policy-and-evaluation-with-dr-liz-hollingworth/ https://melissas2.podbean.com/e/exploring-education-policy-and-evaluation-with-dr-liz-hollingworth/#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2026 14:59:15 -0500 melissas2.podbean.com/cda439bc-8c0c-3221-bdd0-100ff425eb6e Host Melissa introduces the University of Iowa’s measurement legacy (Iowa Testing Programs, E.F. Lindquist, and ACT) and interviews Dr. Liz Hollingworth, professor and director of the Center for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA). Hollingworth recounts her path from K–12 teaching to working at Iowa Testing Programs during No Child Left Behind, developing leadership coursework on standards-based education and advocacy, and moving into program evaluation under Don Yarbrough before becoming CEA director for 11 years. She describes CEA’s work evaluating diverse programs, including a canceled cancer research pipeline program defunded for privileging minoritized students, an RCT of a computer-based third-grade reading intervention across multiple states under a $10M federal grant, and evaluations of mini-grants for women farmers. They discuss who decides what gets measured, the difference between evaluation and research, budgeting 10–15% for evaluation, handling politically sensitive findings, and concerns about frozen federal funding and canceled grant reviews.

]]> Host Melissa introduces the University of Iowa’s measurement legacy (Iowa Testing Programs, E.F. Lindquist, and ACT) and interviews Dr. Liz Hollingworth, professor and director of the Center for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA). Hollingworth recounts her path from K–12 teaching to working at Iowa Testing Programs during No Child Left Behind, developing leadership coursework on standards-based education and advocacy, and moving into program evaluation under Don Yarbrough before becoming CEA director for 11 years. She describes CEA’s work evaluating diverse programs, including a canceled cancer research pipeline program defunded for privileging minoritized students, an RCT of a computer-based third-grade reading intervention across multiple states under a $10M federal grant, and evaluations of mini-grants for women farmers. They discuss who decides what gets measured, the difference between evaluation and research, budgeting 10–15% for evaluation, handling politically sensitive findings, and concerns about frozen federal funding and canceled grant reviews.

]]> Program Evaluation Behind the Scenes: Dr. Liz Hollingworth on What Gets Measured, Why It Matters, and How Funding Shapes Outcomes Host Melissa welcomes Dr. Liz Hollingworth, professor and director of the University of Iowa’s Center for Evaluation and Assessment, and traces Iowa’s legacy in measurement through the Iowa Testing Programs and ACT. Hollingworth shares her path from K–12 teaching to test development during No Child Left Behind, then to leading a university-based evaluation center for 11 years. They discuss how policy and funding shape what gets measured, including a canceled health-sciences program serving minoritized students and current evaluations such as a federally funded randomized controlled trial of a computer-based reading intervention across multiple states and mini-grant evaluations for women farmers. Hollingworth explains how evaluation differs from research, how clients and funders drive priorities and budgets, and why honest findings can create conflict, with vivid examples of being fired and navigating sensitive implementation barriers. 00:00 Exploring Education Policy and Evaluation with Dr. Liz Hollingworth 01:21 Meet Dr. Liz Hollingworth 08:39 Policy, Evaluation & the CEA’s Work 17:34 When the Client Doesn’t Like the Results 26:38 The State of Federal Funding Intro and Outro music by Oriri Music, https://www.youtube.com/@oririmusic Additional show-related resources: Center for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA): https://education.uiowa.edu/research/research-centers-and-initiatives/center-evaluation-and-assessment-cea University of Iowa, College of Education history: https://education.uiowa.edu/about/college-history Melissa Chapman Haynes false No 1815 1 3 full Whole Family Work at Wilder: Measuring What Matters Beyond Outputs Whole Family Work at Wilder: Measuring What Matters Beyond Outputs https://melissas2.podbean.com/e/the-whole-families2gen-approach-with-wilder-foundation/ https://melissas2.podbean.com/e/the-whole-families2gen-approach-with-wilder-foundation/#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2026 16:22:10 -0500 melissas2.podbean.com/0540acbb-c458-3188-bf81-ce4a540f5dbc Whole Family Work at Wilder: Measuring What Matters Beyond Outputs

Host Melissa introduces the podcast’s focus on how evaluation grew from the 1960s war on poverty and welcomes Dr. Wanda Walker and Kristin Dillon to discuss the Wilder Foundation’s Whole Families approach in the Twin Cities. Walker shares 30+ years in anti-poverty and 2Gen work and explains how Wilder has spent the past seven years formalizing Whole Family as an organization-wide philosophy, not a single program, emphasizing “no wrong door,” integrated services, and reducing internal barriers that force families to repeat traumatic stories. Dillon describes Wilder’s unique structure—direct services, policy advocacy, and a research arm—and outlines infrastructure investments such as a Whole Family theory of change, assumptions, and a family-facing visual. They discuss measuring progress through culture change and four shared domains across programs: family agency, holistic needs met, service satisfaction/access, and improved wellbeing/stability, plus the impact of flexible dollars via guaranteed income and a family investment fund.

More than 30 reports and documents are located here for viewers who want to dive into more details: https://www.wilder.org/wilder_topic/whole-families-or-2-gen/?ucpage=3

 

00:00 Wilder-Whole Families

01:19 Guest Introductions

07:39 Theory of Change

12:43 Building Blocks & Integrated Services

22:59 Measuring What Matters

32:21 Hopes for the Future

 

Thank you to our guests! 

Dr. Wanda Walker, MSW, DHS, wanda.walker@wilder.org 

Kristin Dillon, PhD, kristin.dillon@wilder.org 

]]> Whole Family Work at Wilder: Measuring What Matters Beyond Outputs

Host Melissa introduces the podcast’s focus on how evaluation grew from the 1960s war on poverty and welcomes Dr. Wanda Walker and Kristin Dillon to discuss the Wilder Foundation’s Whole Families approach in the Twin Cities. Walker shares 30+ years in anti-poverty and 2Gen work and explains how Wilder has spent the past seven years formalizing Whole Family as an organization-wide philosophy, not a single program, emphasizing “no wrong door,” integrated services, and reducing internal barriers that force families to repeat traumatic stories. Dillon describes Wilder’s unique structure—direct services, policy advocacy, and a research arm—and outlines infrastructure investments such as a Whole Family theory of change, assumptions, and a family-facing visual. They discuss measuring progress through culture change and four shared domains across programs: family agency, holistic needs met, service satisfaction/access, and improved wellbeing/stability, plus the impact of flexible dollars via guaranteed income and a family investment fund.

More than 30 reports and documents are located here for viewers who want to dive into more details: https://www.wilder.org/wilder_topic/whole-families-or-2-gen/?ucpage=3

 

00:00 Wilder-Whole Families

01:19 Guest Introductions

07:39 Theory of Change

12:43 Building Blocks & Integrated Services

22:59 Measuring What Matters

32:21 Hopes for the Future

 

Thank you to our guests! 

Dr. Wanda Walker, MSW, DHS, wanda.walker@wilder.org 

Kristin Dillon, PhD, kristin.dillon@wilder.org 

]]> Melissa Chapman Haynes false No 2637 1 2 full The Human Side of Data Collection The Human Side of Data Collection https://melissas2.podbean.com/e/the-human-side-of-data-collection/ https://melissas2.podbean.com/e/the-human-side-of-data-collection/#comments Mon, 20 Jul 2026 11:18:44 -0500 melissas2.podbean.com/e1117c7a-dd1c-388c-b2cb-0a3d65b89a9a Melissa launches the kickoff episode of the Measure What Matters podcast, reflecting on Georgia Lupe’s quote, “Data are data, but how we gather them and use them is entirely human,” and how evaluation choices shape what we learn. Drawing on her early-2000s experience evaluating the multibillion-dollar Early Reading First program under No Child Left Behind, she explains how different stakeholders—funders, program staff, teachers, parents, and children—wanted different evidence, and how focusing only on funder-required outcomes could miss innovative play-based learning, nuanced professional development, and stakeholder buy-in. She outlines four core questions for the series: who decides what gets measured, what is measured, how it’s measured (including credibility and context), and how data are interpreted and used. She invites diverse voices to future guest episodes and encourages listeners to engage and share.

00:00 Quote That Sparked It

00:43 Early Reading First Formative Experience

02:10 Many Stakeholders, Many Questions

03:49 What Gets Priority?

04:22 Podcast Mission And Guests

07:46 Four-Part Discussion Framework 

08:01 Who Is At The Table

09:11 What We Measure And Why

10:13 Convertible Versus Minivan (Merit v Worth)

12:38 How To Measure Credibly

14:09 Dirt Under Fingernails

15:21 Using, Sharing, and Interpreting Data

17:01 Wrap Up And Call To Action

18:34 Outro And Credits

]]> Melissa launches the kickoff episode of the Measure What Matters podcast, reflecting on Georgia Lupe’s quote, “Data are data, but how we gather them and use them is entirely human,” and how evaluation choices shape what we learn. Drawing on her early-2000s experience evaluating the multibillion-dollar Early Reading First program under No Child Left Behind, she explains how different stakeholders—funders, program staff, teachers, parents, and children—wanted different evidence, and how focusing only on funder-required outcomes could miss innovative play-based learning, nuanced professional development, and stakeholder buy-in. She outlines four core questions for the series: who decides what gets measured, what is measured, how it’s measured (including credibility and context), and how data are interpreted and used. She invites diverse voices to future guest episodes and encourages listeners to engage and share.

00:00 Quote That Sparked It

00:43 Early Reading First Formative Experience

02:10 Many Stakeholders, Many Questions

03:49 What Gets Priority?

04:22 Podcast Mission And Guests

07:46 Four-Part Discussion Framework 

08:01 Who Is At The Table

09:11 What We Measure And Why

10:13 Convertible Versus Minivan (Merit v Worth)

12:38 How To Measure Credibly

14:09 Dirt Under Fingernails

15:21 Using, Sharing, and Interpreting Data

17:01 Wrap Up And Call To Action

18:34 Outro And Credits

]]> Melissa launches the kickoff episode of the Measure What Matters podcast, reflecting on Georgia Lupe’s quote, “Data are data, but how we gather them and use them is entirely human,” and how evaluation choices shape what we learn. Drawing on her early-2000s experience evaluating the multibillion-dollar Early Reading First program under No Child Left Behind, she explains how different stakeholders—funders, program staff, teachers, parents, and children—wanted different evidence, and how focusing only on funder-required outcomes could miss innovative play-based learning, nuanced professional development, and stakeholder buy-in. She outlines four core questions for the series: who decides what gets measured, what is measured, how it’s measured (including credibility and context), and how data are interpreted and used. She invites diverse voices to future guest episodes and encourages listeners to engage and share. Melissa Chapman Haynes false No 1185 1 1 full