Happy Evolution Innovation Network!

by Sharon Grevious

Crystal is the traditional way to honor a 15th Anniversary.  But we can’t relax on our laurels and revel in Swarovski trinkets just yet.  There’s always more work to be done and there are many other, more important, ways for Innovation Network to commemorate this milestone. 

In some ways, we’re well ahead of the anniversary celebration.  Every day that we continue to work towards our mission to improve nonprofit effectiveness and build evaluation capacity is reason to celebrate.  Each time that we receive testimonials from training participants, feedback from consulting clients, and email from our online community, we are strengthened.  Hearing how our work helps you improve your outcomes, capture evidence of your work, and tell your story to the public, builds on the very foundation of why Innovation Network exists. 

As we work to meet our mission and maintain our status as a provider of leading-edge evaluation services, tools and resources to the sector, we pay homage to our roots.  But Innovation Network must also continue to be forward-thinking and progressive in its quest to create lasting social change.  We don’t have the luxury of relying on past methods to be innovative.   Since we began in 1992, the world has experienced immense advancements in technology, modes of communication, tools of efficiency and service delivery.  Innovation Network must ensure that our work rises to meet the sector’s ever-changing needs so that the work we produce for our clients contains the perfect blend of theory, practice, and relevance.

So what better time than an anniversary to reflect on all that we have accomplished and set a new and improved course for the future?

In our line of work, reflection can seem simple enough: What worked?  What hasn’t worked?  What could we have done better?  We follow our own advice and implement the same evaluative strategies that we expect our clients to use.  Why?  Because they work!  Answering these introspective questions leads the way to a more strategic path toward the achievement of organizational goals.   

Our vision for this year of celebration is to embrace evolution. We are in the process of re-defining, re-designing, and re-aligning the ways we serve the nonprofit and philanthropic sector.

You help us celebrate who we are and why we are every day. As always, we will rely on our clients to give us feedback on the changes we make, so that we can continue to provide you with the services you need to meet your missions.  Join us for what we believe will be a great, and extremely busy, 2007—and here’s to another 15 years!