To address these four areas, you will need a variety of information including quantifiable information, such as statistics, that you will track at the program level. You will need accurate records of learner numbers, attendance, contact hours, information and referral, exit and follow-up and so on. This data is very important and can be readily tracked in a variety of manageable and creative ways, but it only tells part of the story. In the next section, we will look at some of the ways to track this data.

You also need to track less quantifiable information such as the impact your program has. To get this data, you need to look both internally (within the program) and externally, i.e., talking to stakeholders, partners, other agencies, and the community in general. You are probably already tracking much of this information anyway for the IMS. However, what you need to do is “flesh it out” and/or analyze correlations in areas such as percentage of attendance compared to rate of progress. We will look further at data analysis later in the manual.

Asking the right questions

Now it’s time to think about the best way to collect data about the results your agency is achieving. Will you send out a survey, lead a focus group, conduct one-to-one interviews or will you combine these methods? What types of questions will you ask (i.e., multiple choice, yes/no, open-ended)? Will you use paper-based survey tools or will you ask questions orally?

One of the key areas of CIPMS is measuring the results your agency achieves in terms of learner success. Interviews, focus groups or surveys done with students can help you determine how those students are using their new skills. Sometimes it can be difficult for students to articulate the impact that literacy training has had on their lives. You need to think carefully about what questions you can ask to help you get this information. You might need to provide specific examples. For example, you might ask if their enhanced literacy skills mean that they can read the newspaper or complete an application form on their own. You might also ask them if friends or family members have noticed any changes. You can ask very direct questions about the type of things they are reading and writing or how they use their literacy skills at work, at home or at school. You can ask if they are better able to understand what they read, if it takes them less time to read something or if they are reading different types of things such as novels or newspapers or magazines.

For example, you could ask if they have started volunteering or if they find it easier to go shopping. You could ask if they are more comfortable speaking in a group or if they use a computer more often than in the past. You could ask if they now use the library regularly or if they can use a banking machine independently