Young people and initiative organizers then read through the journals, assigning a point system developed by Kibel that documents movement through the journey of the initiative and notes built-in benchmarks. Connecticut Assets Network Executive Director Gregory Ryan likes Journey Mapping because it doesn t require anyone to change how they work to fit the evaluation tool. Journey Mapping is a reflection of life, says Ryan. It s based on how people normally get involved in things and goes deeper. At each level, we re measuring what people have heard, learned, and understood.
Numbers are all that count.
Funders do need stories, says Ryan, but they see our stories as soft. So they want outcomes, too. They need both. That numbers are limited in telling the whole story is becoming more evident to both researchers and funders. Educate as you go.