Public Value of Service

IACC VISTA Webinar April 2014Monique Ellefson

1. Understand the difference between public and private value.

2. Create the case and urgency for public value of your organization/work.

3. Embrace public value in addition to private value.

4. List and prioritize organization public values.5. Develop public value stories from your

projects/organization/work.6. Describe and share your organization/work in

relation to public value.

Steps to Public Value

Public Value The value of an opportunity or program to those who

do not directly benefit from it.

Private Value Personal value derived directly from an opportunity

or program.

Public vs. Private Value

Private Value

PROs CONs

Focus on what you want to do

Specific to what you are doing

Meet specific needs of community and your organization

Work can be seen as outdated/irrelevant

Potential unrealized Public good value of

organization diminished

Lose funding more easily

K-12 standards based movement Measuring Excellence databases Program planning and reporting Evidence-based movement Return on investment movement The political context- government relations Need more than feeling good about our

organization

The Push for Public Value

Decrease health care costs Decrease public costs related to financial problems Decrease public response costs to emergencies and

disasters Increase academic success for a highly qualified and

productive workforce Decrease public costs related to dependency on local,

state, and federal services Increase quality jobs Decrease the cost of consumer goods Improve environmental quality Increase global competitiveness Increase civic engagement of citizens Increase health and ability of public safety workers

Common Public Values

Map and prioritize programs (core vs. emerging)

Determine impact to measure (condition change = public value)

Collect and analyze data Tell the public value story (tie to

research and evidence) Where does your org fit?

Your Organization’s Public Value

Avoid generalization

“Contribution towards” vs. “causation of condition change”

Pay attention to what the current events are in your community or in the area of work that you do.

Provide a balance of qualitative and quantitative evidence.

Clearly share any limitations of the data.

Methodological diversity provides strong data (case studies, observation, focus groups/interviews, secondary data, surveys)

Making Your Case

Factors◦ Focused on public value ◦ Catchy◦ Short◦ Jargon free

Describe the issue or problem statement in simple terms appropriate for your audience.

◦ Why are we doing this program? ◦ What needs were expressed?◦ What was the situation/problem, and why was it a

problem?

Impact Statement

Starts from a place of emotion & conviction in order to make a real connection with your audience.

Immediately grounds that emotion in the concrete work an organization does to help real people.

Explains how your work addresses a problem that exists in the community.

Powerful Impact Statement

[Name of organization] believes [deeply held value]. Every day, we [verb] [object] for [constituents] because [problem statement].

Harmony Health Clinic believes that everyone should have access to quality health care, despite their ability to pay. Every day we meet the health and wellness needs of these patients at no cost, because healthy people build healthy communities. VISTA Member 2011

Prescott Area Women’s Shelter believes that housing is a human right. That’s why we ensure that our constituents have a roof over their head. Because nobody should have to call the streets their home. VISTA Member 2011

EarthDance believes in growing food and growing farmers organically and sustainably. Every day we strive to educate and inspire our community about the importance of sustainable food systems because we believe healthy food equates healthy citizens. VISTA Member 2012

Examples from Other VISTAs

Success Story Issue being addressed - include public value reference in title

Relevance Why is it important to address this issue with education? Include research, statistics, and trends to support importance

of issue. What are the desired changes?

Response Outputs - Identify activities, # of clients reached,

publications, services, workshops, etc. used to address the issue

Results Outcomes: Identify specific behavior and condition changes,

how outcomes were measured, and relevance to public value

Public Value Story Template

Public Value & Your Position

What is your organization’s public value statement?

Can be used for:◦ Recruitment◦ Funding/grants◦ Assessing programs/services

Use this information for yourself!

Translate your year of VISTA into your values, beliefs, aspirations, etc.

Helpful for…◦ Career planning/searching◦ Reflecting on year of service◦ Resume building◦ Preparing for interview questions

Public Value & You

Questions? Comments?

What’s the Value Proposition of Your Organization: Determining and Articulating Your Public Value. Nancy Franz, Iowa State University. Iowa Nonprofit Summit, Nov 2013.

Powerful Presentations. Jean Carroccio. VISTA Leader Webinar, Feb 2014.

References