Looking Back to Move Forward: Reflections on Continuous Improvement
A 3-minute read on the evolution of our practice
Four years ago, I wrote an article about democratizing evaluation in youth development. Like finding an old photo of yourself with questionable fashion choices, reading it recently made me cringe a little. The passion was there — you could feel it jumping off the page — but the depth? Not so much.
What I Got Right. The accessibility of the writing — no fancy evaluation jargon or academic posturing. The clear message that evaluation shouldn’t be an exclusive club. The insistence that we need to democratize this process. These core principles still hold true.
What I Missed But oh, what I didn’t know then! The article touched on real-time feedback but didn’t dive deep into how to actually do it. It was like giving someone directions by saying “go north” without providing a compass. The piece lacked concrete tools, specific methodologies, and real examples of success (and failure). Plus it was all over the place. The transitions were abrupt, and there, I just didn’t do enough to make the bigger connections.
In the book “Four Pivots,” Dr. Shawn Ginwright masterfully weaves together hindsight, insight, and foresight. He teaches us that to move forward, we must look back with honesty, assess our present with clarity, and imagine future possibilities with conviction and focus. Like his journey, I’ve learned that you truly “don’t know until you know.” Theory and some experiences can point the way, but real understanding comes through doing — through the mistakes, achievements, and countless iterations of tinkering with evaluation approaches across different contexts. Each project has added new layers to my understanding of what works, what doesn’t, and why.
What makes my heart skip a beat these days is watching the transformation when youth workers realize evaluation isn’t the high-stakes, oppressive tool they’ve feared. There’s something magical about seeing organizations shift from collecting data just for funders to eagerly diving deep into their numbers for program planning. Our data sessions are filled with music, art, laughter, and games — three hours fly by as we turn metrics into meaning. Recently, a participant smiled and said, “You had me engaged the entire time, this was fun.”
Since writing that article, Praxis Institute has deepened its practice through over 25 mixed-methods evaluation projects, facilitated countless collaborative data sessions, and provided one-on-one coaching to practitioners at every organizational level. We’ve partnered with a variety of organizations including the Department of Family and Support Services, Chase Foundation’s The Fellowship Initiative, Obama Foundation, Chicago Public Schools, New Deal for Youth, and After School Matters. Each partnership has taught us something new about making evaluation meaningful, accessible, and actionable.
Where We Are Now This is why we’re launching this four-part series on continuous improvement. We’ve learned that it’s not enough to just say “collect data in real-time” — we need to show exactly how. Over the next four weeks, we’ll break down:
- Real-time questioning strategies that actually work (not just survey fatigue generators)
- Simple ways to create a survey or interview guide and how to collect the data.
- Smart data triangulation that tells the full story asd data visualization techniques that make sense to everyone
- Documentation methods that help replicate success
Looking back at that article from 2021, I realize it’s like a first draft of what would become a much richer story. The passion was right, but the practice needed time to mature. It’s fitting, really — continuous improvement is all about learning from what came before to build something better.
As our partners implement these evolved strategies, they’re seeing changes within weeks, not months. They’re discovering that evaluation can be a tool for empowerment rather than judgment, a way to amplify voices rather than silence them. The transformation from theory to practice, from passion to precision, has been remarkable to witness.
Next week, we’ll dive into Part 1 of our series: Real-time questioning strategies that transform programs while they’re happening, not after they’re over. Because looking back isn’t about dwelling in the past — it’s about building a stronger foundation for the future. We’ll keep looking back, learning forward, and unapologetically embracing this cycle of continuous growth.
