"With Sopact we have elevated our transparency and power of making data driven decisions."

Background

The Steinman Foundation is dedicated to enhancing community welfare in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, by funding programs and educational efforts that promote skill acquisition and knowledge enhancement, crucial for workforce advancement. The programs are delivered through after school hours on projects and continuously using data to learn which programs are generating maximum impact. Through after school project-based learning programs, they have three clear outcomes,

1. Students increase their soft skills, such as Communication, Resilience, Integrity, Problem Solving, and Teamwork.
2. Students increase their HARD skills such as Technical, Math, Science, Engineering, Coding, Robotics etc.
3. Students increase their awareness for STEM careers.

Challenge

Steinman Foundation needs to effectively harness the data from its grant-making especially STEM Alliance activities to evaluate the impact of its programs. Multiple surveys in Survey Monkey were not bringing aggregated information to see if Outcomes are realizing. Lack of all data at one place prevents resource allocation and evidence demanded by the Board members.

Solution

Leveraging the expertise of the Sopact team, the Steinman Foundation formulated,

• Clear strategies and outcomes for their STEM initiatives.
• Built multiple data-driven dashboards by programs and aggregated for reporting internally and externally.
• The foundation gains critical insights into the efficacy of programs delivering STEM education.

Results

1. The Steinman Foundation uses a centralized dashboard to report to its Board of Directors.
2. The program manager can now use data-driven approach to assess and allocate resources based on efficiency and effectiveness.
3. A strong emphasis on continuous improvement and long-term impact.

The key outcomes achieved from the dashboard insights include:

1. Increasing Participation and Program Numbers: From <10 % participant feedback to going towards >80% as a goal.
2. Continuously keeping an eye on price per Outcome.
3. Curated programs are selected that performed well in past.
4. New initiatives have clear Outcome and data collection strategies defined.
5. Fostering a culture of data in the grantees that will help them grow.

Overall, Steinman Foundation utilizes data-driven insights to maximize impact and increasing data capacity of its grantees.

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Example and insights for the STEM Impact Report.