Standards #3: assess & reflect

Goal: Learn what you did, compared to what you set out to do.

Below, we share a template for moving values to decisions to evaluation. It can spark unexpected forms of creativity, including new and innovative projects.

• Values (tab 1): What universally matters to you and how systems would operate if your values were normal

• Design principles (tab 2): How values might apply to a mission/ project

• Policies (tab 3): Translating into day-to-day decisions

• Curation (tab 4): Translating into curatorial decisions

• Evaluation (tab 5): how to benchmark.

Evaluation is a way to understand how your event or project unfolded compared to the benchmarks you set at the beginning. You decide what success looks like first, and then you look at where you landed.

Evaluation is not the same as “impact,” which is what many funders will ask you for. In theory, “impact” is about defining what changed (in the world, in your community, however you define it) as a result of what you did. Some funders use things like numbers of attendees or products produced as a substitute.

This sheet might be less helpful with impact, because we care far more about assessing how met our values / design principles, and how that was felt by our community. We also move quickly on what we hear from a single or few people in conversation over waiting for lots of data.

If you think the blueprint needs a post focused on impact, please let us know!

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Step 1: Design the Questions (and Identify Who They’re For)

Writing Questions

1. Ask if a policy had the effect you hoped for. Write questions using “Did / Were / Was”

2. Decide on a response scale (eg, Yes, Mostly, Somewhat, Not quite, Not at all, NA)

3. Who’s Asked: Specify the group or individuals best positioned to answer each question

4. Value / Principle: For each question, check which values or principles it touches. This allows you to track alignment across multiple dimensions.

Types of Questions

• Values: Create questions that reflect whether the policies you created has the effect you hoped for. The template continues the values practices you built at the beginning.

• Neutral: You can include neutral questions like attendance numbers or timing, whether or not you set a target in advance. Hopefully they don't conflict with your values.

Step 2: Circulate Questions for Feedback

Before finalizing, share your draft questions with a few trusted people.

• Check for clarity, tone, and relevance.

• Make sure questions align with what you actually have the capacity to act on.

• Prioritize: Focus on the most important questions. Fewer is often better for everyone.

Step 3: Gather Responses Simply

• Short surveys, quick polls, or informal check-ins work well.

• Real-time feedback (during or immediately after the event) is often best.

• Keep it brief. People are more likely to respond.

Step 4: Decide What Actions to Take

• Review responses and look for patterns.

• Identify a small number of changes to make in future work.

• Name what should stay the same.

• Share learnings with your collaborators where appropriate.

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