You Get What You Measure® is our trademarked approach to strategic planning that incorporates measurement and can be used as a framework for evaluation. You Get What You Measure® is a values-based approach that incorporates systems thinking, creates a shared language, and allows people and individuals with diverse perspectives to share responsibility and accountability in achieving mutually beneficial goals. Federal and state government agencies, non-profit organizations, foundations, and boards of directors have found You Get What You Measure® to be a powerful approach that produces unique insights and adds value to their work.
Download the You Get What You Measure® brochure or check out a brief video about You Get What You Measure® to learn more. You can also read about the approach in Robert Penna's book, The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox.
Interested in learning more about You Get What You Measure®? We offer periodic public workshops - contact us for details.
Interested in using You Get What You Measure® in your work? Consider attending our Becoming a Measurement Guide training.
Participants in the April 2015 Becoming a Measurement Guide Training joined us from the 1772 Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Yellow Wood Associates. Yellow Wood has been offering professionals with facilitation skills…
The Land Trust Alliance (Alliance) is a national conservation organization that works to save the places people love. Most recently, the Alliance has begun to focus on Community Conservation, listening to and engaging people from all walks of life…
The Rutland Area Farm and Food Link received a 2014 partnership grant from Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (NESARE). Rutland Area Farm and Food Link’s (RAFFL) programs link small-scale, diversified, and local farms with new…
Renewable Energy Vermont is a Vermont-based non-profit focused on reducing the state’s dependence on fossil fuels and expanding the use of renewable energy across the state and the region. Yellow Wood is working with Renewable Energy Vermont on a three-part…
Yellow Wood is working with the Verde River Valley Nature Organization (VRVNO) as they transition from a volunteer-led nonprofit organization to an executive director-led nonprofit. We will be facilitating an on-site strategic planning workshop with…
The Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC) works to increase the pace, quality and scale of land conservation in Connecticut while assuring the perpetual, high quality stewardship of conserved lands in the state. The council is in a growth stage,…
In connection with our work on the Wallace Center Nourishing Networks – Improving the Food Environment Project, Yellow Wood provided consulting services to Wallace under the Nourishing Networks: Capacity Building for Food Hubs and Regional Food Systems…
The Local Economies Project of the New World Foundation is focused on strengthening the food system of the Hudson Valley Region through four primary areas of focus: 1) The Hudson Valley Farm Hub; 2) A Food Hub Portfolio; 3) Education; and 4) A financing…
Continuing their work with the Local Economies Project (LEP) of the New World Foundation, Yellow Wood designed and facilitated a full-day, on-site workshop to review the findings from the first workshop, align current and planned activities in relation…
Yellow Wood provided the Town of Hinesburg with assistance in developing an economic development strategy. This assistance included planning and facilitating a community engagement workshop to identify the strategic leverage points for goals identified…
Melissa Levy presented a workshop titled Strategic Planning, Measurement and Evaluation Using “You Get What You Measure®” at the 2014 Connecticut Land Conservation Conference. You Get What You Measure® is a facilitated, values-based strategic planning…
Melissa Levy presented two “You Get What You Measure®” workshop sessions at the 25th Annual Rural Community and Economic Development Conference, as part of a program of workshops on community and economic development techniques. The conference was…
The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development's What Works Conference Series hosted a joint regional conference with the National Value Added Agriculture Conference on "Enhancing Food Security and Rural Viability through Innovative Food System…
Yellow Wood worked with the Land Trust Alliance Northeast Region and the 1772 Foundation to plan and facilitate a meeting of farmland preservation grantees. The Land Trust Alliance Northeast Region has a collaborative relationship with the 1772 Foundation…
Shanna Ratner and Jackie LeBlanc co-presented a half-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Raleigh, NC. Attendees came from the Research Triangle Foundaton, Hudson Varick Resources, and the North Carolina Fourth Sector Resource…
Shanna Ratner presented a half-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Ithaca, NY. The workshop was part of the Human Services Coalition workshop series. Attendees came from Alternatives Federal…
Melissa Levy and Samantha Dunn co-presented a half-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Baltimore, MD. Attendees came from the Farmers Market Coalition and the University of Maryland.
Participants in the April 2014 Becoming a Measurement Guide Training joined us from the Virgin Islands Developmental Disabilities Council and the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link. Yellow Wood has been offering professionals with facilitation skills…
Shanna Ratner and Jackie LeBlanc presented two sessions at the NGFN Food Hub Collaboration Spring 2014 Conference in Raleigh, NC: “Finding Common Measures for the Nation’s Food Hubs” and “Measures that Matter.” In “Finding Common Measures,” Yellow…
Shanna Ratner provided coaching and mentoring to 2007 Measurement Guide Molly Anderson, Partridge Chair in Food & Sustainable Agriculture Systems, College of the Atlantic, during a You Get What You Measure® in Use session with Farm to Institution New…
Members of the April 2013 Measurement Guide class included Ashley Taylor, Wallace Center at Winrock International, Virginia; Barbara Newman, Jefferson County Department of Health, Alabama; Denise Smith, Friends of Northern Lake Champlain, Vermont;…
Melissa Levy provided measurement coaching to 2013 Measurement Guide Karen Lehman, Director of Fresh Taste. Melissa Levy assisted Karen Lehman and Fresh Taste with facilitation of a workshop with representatives of the Illinois Farmers Market Association.…
Melissa Levy assisted Karen Lehman and Fresh Taste with facilitation of a workshop with representatives of the Illinois Farmers Market Association. Using You Get What You Measure®, the workshop was meant to help the Illinois Farmers Market Association…
In connection with our work on the Wallace Center Nourishing Networks – Improving the Food Environment Project, Yellow Wood provided consulting services to Wallace under the Increasing Farmer Success in Local Food Markets in Mississippi and Alabama…
FINE is a network of organizations working to strengthen farm to institution connections throughout New England. Yellow Wood worked with FINE using You Get What You Measure® to engage multiple stakeholders in clarifying its external goals, creating…
Melissa Levy and Samantha Dunn co-presented a half-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Saratoga Springs, NY. Attendees came from the Land Trust Alliance, Ma'yan, the New World Foundation, the New York Farm Viability Institute,…
Members of the November 2012 Measurement Guide class included Jeff Farbman, Wallace Center at Winrock International, Virginia; Katie Enterline, Wallace Center at Winrock International, Virginia; Stacia Kiraly, Wallace Center at Winrock International,…
Members of the April 2012 Measurement Guide class included Ben Lesser, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.; Greg Hessel, ReGeneration Resources, Vermont; Jackie LeBlanc, Yellow Wood Associates, Vermont; and Michael Hancox, Skeo Solutions,…
The eXtension Evaluation PDCoP is charged with providing assistance, resources, and expertise in evaluation to colleagues throughout the Cooperative Extension Service of USDA and across all Extension content areas using electronic media. The eXtension…
Melissa Levy co-presented a workshop session titled "Visioning and Beyond: Developing Plans and Measuring Implementation" with Peggy Reichert of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The workshop walked participants through the process of connecting…
Melissa Levy presented an interactive demonstration of tools designed to help practitioners identify and measure the impacts of project and policy actions on different forms of community wealth. Participants worked through two exercises to analyze…
Melissa Levy and Ruth Feldman co-presented a full-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Portland, ME. Attendees came from the Maine Association of Nonprofits, the Maine Community Foundation, the University of Southern Maine,…
Melissa Levy and Jackie LeBlanc co-presented a full-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Montpelier, VT. Attendees came from the Orange County Parent and Child Center, the Chittenden Regional Planning Commission, and Skeo…
What you measure IS what you get! Melissa Levy presented this webinar to the National Good Food Network on January 20, 2011. The webinar presented a taste of the acclaimed You Get What You Measure® planning process. Participants learned crucial measurement…
Members of the November 2011 Measurement Guide class included Ann Jones-Weinstock, NRG Systems, Vermont; Deb Markley, Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, North Carolina; and Marilyn Hoke, Community Resource Group, Arkansas. Since 2002, Yellow Wood has…
Members of the March 2011 Becoming a Measurement Guide class included Katy Allen, Rural Support Partners, North Carolina; Thomas Watson, Rural Support Partners, North Carolina; Judy Anderson, Community Consultants, New York; Ruth Feldman, Project for…
Melissa Levy, Senior Associate, and Barbara Wyckoff, Measurement Guide, co-presented "You Get What You Measure®: An Alternative Strategic Planning and Evaluation Tool for Progress You Can See," a seven hour training session crafted to provide participants…
At the Vermont Community Development Association’s Annual Meeting in April 2010, Shanna Ratner presented Green Community Technologies® and facilitated exercises in skilled listening, skilled inquiry and skilled advocacy with Vermont planners and U.S.D.A.…
Melissa Levy presented “You Get What You Measure: An Alternative Strategic Planning and Evaluation Tool” at the 2010 Alliance for Nonprofit Management Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. Participants received an overview of a strategic planning and…
The May 2010 class of Measurement Guides included Jeremy Phillips, Jeremy Phillips Consulting, Massachusetts; Ora Grodsky, Just Works Consulting, Massachusetts; and Samantha Dunn, Yellow Wood Associates. Since 2002, Yellow Wood has been offering professionals…
Yellow Wood worked with the Vermont Community Foundation and the United Way of Addison County to use You Get What You Measure® with each organization’s grantees, a diverse group of organizations operating in Addison County, Vermont, to learn more about…
Melissa Levy presented a full-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Washington, DC. Attendees came from NOAA, the US Forest Service, the US Department of Agriculture, and the US EPA.
The January 2009 class of Measurement Guides included Peter van Schaick, consultant, Vermont; Rob Petrini, Yellow Wood Associates, Vermont. Since 2002, Yellow Wood has been offering professionals with facilitation skills the opportunity to become Measurement…
This You Get What You Measure® workshop was designed for community stakeholders to assist them in coming together to recognize their own and each other’s roles in moving toward their goal, “Lives are enriched in our community as retiring boomers reengage…
The Central Appalachian Network (CAN) is a group of seven nonprofits in the Central Appalachian states of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia focused on transforming Central Appalachia’s economy by creating economic opportunities…
Shanna Ratner and Rob Petrini of Yellow Wood Associates worked with a group of regional participants from the Central Minnesota Cultural Planning Steering Committee applying the You Get What You Measure® process to a Cultural Plan previously worked…
Within this session Yellow Wood Associates worked with a diverse group of eleven nonprofit organizations within Central Minnesota. Each group was asked to identify a specific goal related to their organization at which time we facilitated them through…
Yellow Wood worked with Cornell University Community and Rural Development Institute using You Get What You Measure® in Use to assist diverse groups working on two projects: Local Agriculture Sustainability Indicators, and Vital Indicators for Enhancing…
Shanna Ratner and Rob Petrini facilitated a full-day You Get What You Measure® workshop for the Regional Nonprofit Alliance at Ohio University, on May 27, 2009. The Regional Nonprofit Alliance is an outreach effort of Ohio University’s Voinovich School…
The You Get What You Measure® workshop presented on May 11, 2009 for Workforce Central of the Community Foundation of Greater South Wood County, Wisconsin was well attended by participants ranging from staff, committee members, funder representatives…
Shanna Ratner and Rob Petrini presented a You Get What You Measure workshop for the Community Foundation of Greater South Wood County, WI on March 5, 2009. This half day session was the first of two, the second presented on May 12, 2009. The first…
The You Get What You Measure® workshop presented by Shanna Ratner, Melissa Levy, and Rob Petrini on April 28 and 29th, 2009 for the Spartanburg, South Carolina Community organized through the Spartanburg County Foundation, was a two-day You Get What…
Yellow Wood worked with the National Good Food Network leadership in designing, executing, and following up on a strategic planning meeting. Yellow Wood assisted with the follow up process, development of an action plan, and evaluation planning.
In this workshop Yellow Wood worked with the West Central Initiative Management Team and applied the You Get What You Measure® process to the Business and Employment portion of their strategic plan. During this process they revealed the key leverage…
Melissa Levy and Rob Petrini co-presented a full-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Rutland, VT.
Yellow Wood Associates was selected as the evaluator for the Advantage Valley Entrepreneurial Development System. Advantage Valley was one of six initiatives funded by the Kellogg Foundation to experiment with a variety of approaches for encouraging…
Shanna Ratner delivered a You Get What You Measure® in Use workshop to staff and board members of community foundations seeking to become leaders in their communities. The Community Leadership Network Peer-Learning Institute in Georgia was sponsored…
Shanna Ratner delivered a You Get What You Measure® in Use workshop to staff and board members of community foundations seeking to become leaders in their communities. The Community Leadership Network Peer-Learning Institute in Minnesota was sponsored…
The Director and volunteer committee who manage the Western Heritage Historic Byway in Idaho used You Get What You Measure® to develop a strategic plan for their byway. They identified goals, key leverage indicators, measures and actions that will…
The November 2007 Becoming a Measurement Guide class included Molly Anderson, College of the Atlantic, Maine; Valerie Esposito, Gund Institute, Vermont; and Daniel Spies, consultant, Illinois. Since 2002, Yellow Wood has been offering professionals…
Presented "Introduction to You Get What You Measure®" at Evaluation 2007: Evaluation and Learning, the American Evaluation Assocation's 2007 annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Shanna Ratner co-presented with Kim Norris.
Shanna Ratner and Melissa Levy of Yellow Wood Associates presented an 8-hour You Get What You Measure® training. Everyone likes to see progress. Measurement provides tangible evidence of progress that motivates further action. This is true whether…
The Town of Montgomery, New York hired Yellow Wood Associates to assist residents and local government officials in planning for the Town’s energy future. Yellow Wood used its You Get What You Measure® process to help the group identify seven important…
The April 2006 Becoming a Measurement Guide class included Wilma Bodnar and Hélène Gaulin of Environment Canada. Since 2002, Yellow Wood has been offering professionals with facilitation skills the opportunity to become Measurement Guides and learn…
The November 2006 Becoming a Measurement Guide class included Kimberly Norris, EcoEval, Maryland; and Susan Koschak, America’s Byways, Minnesota. Since 2002, Yellow Wood has been offering professionals with facilitation skills the opportunity to become…
Shanna Ratner provided coaching and mentoring for 2005 Measurement Guide Jeff Forward of Forward Thinking Consultants as he facilitated his first You Get What You Measure® session with the Vermont Environmental Consortium at Groton State Park on Monday,…
Appalachian Sustainable Development, the Center for Economic Options, and the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development asked Yellow Wood to provide facilitation services for their collaboration. The purpose of the collaboration was to…
Shanna Ratner presented "The Power of Measurement and Developing Measurement Plans" at the Connecticut Climate Change Workshop: Measuring Progress in Climate Change Action Plan Implementation held in Waterford, CT on October 24-26, 2006. The purpose…
Shanna Ratner and Melissa Levy of Yellow Wood Associates presented an 8-hour You Get What You Measure® training. Identifying indicators and developing measures of progress can be a powerful tool for personal and organizational development, as well…
For the second time, Vermont Environmental Consortium's Board of Directors selected Yellow Wood Associates to facilitate their strategic planning process using our trademarked You Get What You Measure® approach. In a one-day retreat, Yellow Wood assisted…
Shanna Ratner provided coaching and mentoring for 2005 Measurement Guide Samin Dadelahi as she conducted her first solo session of You Get What You Measure® at the Wyoming Community Foundation. The “Wyoming Community Foundation Evaluation and Planning…
The November 2005 class of Measurement Guides included Jeff Forward, Forward Thinking Consultants, Vermont; Joy Stalker, Rural Health Network of South Central New York; Christine Berwald, Rural Health Network of South Central New York; and Charlie…
Members of the February 2005 Becoming a Measurement Guide class included Lorie Higgins, University of Idaho and Susan Youmans, Executive Director, Environmental Partnerships, Inc., Massachusetts. Since 2002, Yellow Wood has been offering professionals…
Yellow Wood Associates presented an 8-hour training in You Get What You Measure®. This informative, interactive workshop introduced the process of measurement by showing participants how to clarify goals, identify indicators and effective measures…
Members of the November 2004 Becoming a Measurement Guide class included Monica Stone, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Samin Dadelahi, Wyoming Community Foundation. Since 2002, Yellow Wood has been offering professionals with facilitation…
Yellow Wood facilitated the Vermont Environmental Consortium's strategic planning process using our trademarked You Get What You Measure® approach. Over the course of two workshops, Yellow Wood assisted the board with planning to better define the…
Shanna Ratner provided coaching and mentoring for 2002 Measurement Guide Karen Affeld from Rural Action, a nonprofit organization that builds model sustainable development projects and encourages a broad civic conversation around Appalachian Ohio’s…
Yellow Wood Associates facilitated a two-day Navajo County Forest Health Strategic Planning Workshop for town, county and tribal participants, using You Get What You Measure®. The workshop focused on forest health and reducing threat of catastrophic…
Facilitated two-day application of You Get What You Measure® with staff and community leaders focusing on identifying key leverage points and measures of progress toward poverty reduction goals identified in the community plan.
Yellow Wood Associates provided an introduction to strategy development using You Get What You Measure® to a multi-lingual group of residents, immigrants, and refugees in Central South King County, Washington on behalf of the Northwest Area Foundation.…
Facilitated one-day application of You Get What You Measure® for the Community Foundation of Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Northeast Iowa focusing on clarifying the definition of “assets” using indicator analysis in a systems context for self-organizing…
Members of the August 2002 Becoming a Measurement Guide class included LaDonna Coy, Southwest CAPT, Oklahoma; Kerstin Gorham, Northwest Area Foundation, Minnesota; and Karen Affeld, Rural Action, Ohio. Since 2002, Yellow Wood has been offering professionals…
Members of the first Becoming a Measurement Guide class included Sunny Walker, SunWalker Enterprises, Colorado; Suzanne Hughes, ACT Missouri; Jon Zeltsman, Zeltsman Associates, New York; and Michaela Stickney, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. Since…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. trained nearly 60 people in You Get What You Measure® at the Navajo Chapter House in Cameron, Arizona in December 2000. Participants included a mix of Native and non-Native Americans, youth and elders, men and women, who…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. trained 26 people from the Missouri Departments of Economic Development, Health, and Mental Health, in You Get What You Measure®, Yellow Wood’s unique approach to measuring progress toward goals. Participants applied You…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. facilitated a training and presented a keynote at “Seeing Beyond the Symptoms: A Conference of Community Change Agents,” sponsored by the Missouri Association of Community Task Forces in conjunction with the Missouri Department…
Yellow Wood designed and delivered, “You Get What You Measure®: Becoming a Learning Community,” for the staff and 31 Vista volunteers of Rural Action in Athens, Ohio. Staff and volunteers used the workshop to develop goals, indicators, and measures…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. co-delivered a training with Daryl Hobbs of the University of Missouri Office for Social and Economic Data Analysis using Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.’s measurement process to over 120 USDA Rural Development staff from…
Yellow Wood Associates was invited by the Aspen Institute to deliver two training sessions to Ford Foundation grantees during the Community-Based Forestry Demonstration Program Meeting in Memphis, Tennessee in December 1999. One training focused on…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. delivered its interactive workshop, You Get What You Measure®, for state government employees at Vermont’s Cyprian Learning Center, a state personnel training center. Follow-up from the initial workshop included working…
The Maine Food Strategy Steering Committee is a diverse group of stakeholders from around the state. Initiated in December of 2013, the Steering Committee is responsible for guiding the direction of the Maine…
