Call for Proposal on Measuring Impact!

Call for Proposal: Measuring Impact!

Bridge Foundry and the Bridge communities create space for tech communities to gather and train others in top technologies used in our industry. This is not just about the physical space for gatherings or funding more diverse participation at conferences. We also foster communities where people can feel like they belong in an industry with systemic bias against most people.

Over the past decade, we have grown as a volunteer-driven grassroots movement. This is a challenging feat and we are very proud of how each of us has played a small part in creating positive impact across the industry. We want to continue facilitating workshops, writing, speaking, and making change until technology is equally available and accessible to everyone. We also want to dig deeper into why our model is successful and how it impacts our communities, industry, and beyond.

Traditionally, we have reported data on the number of participants at events with growth of number of events over time and across geographies. We have anecdotal evidence that there is significant impact with repeat participation. We also have other activities, like podcasts, online events and even a book in the works! In order to sustain our model, we have organically created leadership pipelines where students become teachers and take on other leadership roles. Repeat participation also causes volunteers to bring positive change to their workplaces. By gaining more insight into the space that we are creating through these workshops, we believe that we can hone our practices, improving the experience of working within our communities and increasing our positive impact on the world.

We would like to hire an individual researcher or firm to develop a research plan for 2020. In keeping with our practice of agile, iterative approaches, the project will include 2019 report using the data we have and collaborating with our volunteer leaders to develop recommendations for a 2020 research plan.

Project Scope:

1. Research and write an impact report for the 2019 fiscal year. Our expectation is that report would include no more than 2-3 pages of narrative text, with an appendix of data gathering activities, which would include:
   • Reviewing current and past data (participation in workshops and other programs)
   • Interviewing board members and staff (5 people)
   • Performing a qualitative assessment, such as a survey with follow-up interviews with participants (volunteer leaders, students, teachers, etc)
2. Recommendations for 2020, including the following:
   • Evaluation and measurement of outcomes/impact
   • Map program activities to mission goals
   • Proposed metrics and measurement
   • Activities to engage with community to generate ideas and validate approach
   • Plan for quarterly report with iterative approach to improvement

If you’re interested, please contact hello@bridgefoundry.org.
We look forward to meeting you.