Turning the Curve

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Contributors: Your friends at United Way Fox Cities

Earlier this year we shared a blog about our efforts in Results Based Accountability (RBA), a method based on common-sense ideas. By asking the right questions, we can get better answers to address community issues. More than 150 people, who are stakeholders or subject experts in the areas of our four United Way goals, joined us in looking through the RBA lens by doing Turning the Curve exercises. Discussions were led by facilitators that have been trained by Mark Friedman, the founder of Results Based Accountability.

Our objective is to move from talk to action on the following Quality of Life Goals:

• Improving the mental health of adults in the Fox Cities.
• Reducing the number of individuals who pay more than 30% of their income on housing.
• Reducing the number of screened in reports of child abuse & neglect.
• Improving third grade reading proficiency.

The Turn the Curve exercise is done quickly with no more than an hour spent on the entire process. We began by examining the present trend in each of our goals and forecasting what the change would be out to the year 2021. 
 
The next step was to look at causes and factors affecting the issue – or the Story behind the Curve. The most creative exercise was next; identifying strategies to Turn the Curve and make a positive difference in issues that we have identified. RBA encourages low or no-cost ideas and innovative off-the-wall ideas.
 
The results were impressive, with many creative ideas being shared, ranging from simple to complex. United Way Fox Cities will use the information to identify key strategies for our focus moving forward. We thank everyone who attended and helped us continue our journey of Turning the Curve. Thank you for helping us fulfill our mission to create a stronger, more caring community.