Ford Foundation's Ubinas on Measurement and Social Change
Last night I had the chance to hear Luis Ubinas, President of the Ford Foundation, speak on "Pathways to Lasting Social Change" as part of the Brandeis Heller School 50th Anniversary Speaker Series. The format was conversational, with Mr. Ubinas being interviewed by Professor Andy Hahn. This allowed for an interesting exchange on a wide range of topics related to philanthropy, social change and Ubinas' vision for the Ford Foundation.
Mr. Ubinas has been at the helm of Ford for roughly two years, after having spent most of his career with McKinsey. I'd say we're fortunate to have him now in such a key leadership role in the philanthropic center, as he brings tremendous energy, strategic insight and critical thinking to the work.
I will share a few highlights that resonated with me rather than trying to recap the entire dialog. I was especially interested in Ubinas' views around the implications of how we think about measurement in the social sector. I had some idea of his views on the subject, having read this post on the Tactical Philanthropy blog. Mr. Ubinas strikes what I think is a good balance on this subject. He commented that given the push to measure outcomes in the nonprofit sector, the response has often been to focus on what can readily be quantifiably measured. But he observed that it is often "small things" that can be easily quantified; the bigger issues are often less tangible and harder to quantify. I was an easy sell on this argument, working the past eight years to increase social capital--which is of course rather intangible and hard to pin down with quantifiable outcome measurement. I was encouraged by his admonition "Don't get boxed in by what can be easily understood".
Ubinas was not by any means saying measurement isn't important; quite the opposite. He's very passionate about using a more refined approach to measuring results in order to drive Ford's work in its areas of strategic focus. He described how Ford, with its focus on long-term social change, is inherently about trying to impact outcomes that tend toward the intangible. Their challenge is to work with grantees and partners to develop a more refined way to measure the intangibles, which often means relying on sophisticated qualitative measures. Ubinas argues for a nuanced approach, that takes into account a project's stage of development. For instance, measuring inputs might be sufficient for a new project, while something that has been operation for awhile ought to be expected to show social impact outcomes.
During the question & answer period, I asked Mr. Ubinas how this need to consider intangible outcomes might factor into Ford's work on education reform. I mentioned how the current high stakes testing environment tends to focus on basic skills that can be more easily measured, leaving little time or attention on other important aspects of education, such as passing on civic values. He agreed with this concern, and mentioned that he's been thinking about how to use a more sophisticated measurement approach to capture educational outcomes that might contribute to American innovation; which aren't readily measured in current tests. He cited the numerous examples of recent technological innovations like Twitter, Google, etc. all being developed here in the U.S. despite our lagging behind on science and math scores. (Ubinas didn't discuss it a lot last night, but touched briefly upon the important opportunity presented by technological innovation for supporting social change).
One final note from the night that I also found compelling. When asked about how he dealt with Ford's involvement on a number of controversial issues, he focused on the need for more spaces for civil discourse among those that might not agree on an issue, something that has been on my mind of late too. "We must retain the capacity for civil discourse, especially on the tough issues," Ubinas commented. A good note to end on!
