Позитивные изменения. Том 3, № 3 (2023). Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 3 (2023)

This comprehensive approach enabled us to reevaluate and systematize all our activities. As a result, the current description of our child abandonment prevention practice appears as follows:[93]

• Goals;

• Objectives;

• Description of the target audience (beneficiaries);

• Detailed step-by-step description of the work technology: a script for the hotline operator receiving calls, the procedure and addressees to whom the information must be forwarded, how many people should respond to the call and how soon, etc. The average duration of a case (1.5 years) is also prescribed;

• Principles of technology implementation;

• List of services provided;

• Work scenarios;

• Norms for staff in case management;

• Frequency of evaluation and system of metrics;

• Situations in which we stop working with a family (work goals have been achieved, the family refuses to cooperate, or the family moves to another region).

Every step and every metric is substantiated. The result is a set of performance metrics that allow us to determine whether a family has overcome their crisis and whether it possesses sufficient resources to handle their issues independently.

Our scorecard consists of 35 metrics, including the following:

• number of families/parents/children participating in the project;

• number/share of families participating in the project in relation to the districts where they reside;[94]

• the average increase in family well-being;

• dynamics of individual well-being characteristics;

• the volume of counseling services (total/by type/ average per family);

• signals converted into completed cases;

• number of family visits (total/per family/one-off assistance).

After conducting a strategic session in 2019 to adopt a new mission and goal statement, we began to align our practices accordingly, starting with a revision of our organizational structure[95] and an end-to-end KPI system. The KPI system cascades down from the director to the entire staff of the foundation, and includes indicators related to achieving our strategic goals and fulfilling our mission, as well as staff performance indicators by business area, and metrics embedded within our practices.

The same benchmarks can be found in our public semi-annual and annual reports.[96] This ensures the metrics incorporated in our practices are consistently followed throughout the foundation’s work.

WHY EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES ARE ESSENTIAL

Evidence-based practices and a well-established operating technology offer several key advantages:

1. Enhanced efficiency in beneficiary engagement and measurable outcomes.

Formalized practices streamline processes, while a well-calibrated technology ensures swift results and improved efficiency in working with the beneficiaries.

2. A development opportunity for the Foundation.

Our mission is to revolutionize the child welfare system nationwide. This means our practices need to be implemented on a broad scale throughout the country. This can be achieved through scaling and replication.

Scaling involves expanding the Foundation’s activities to new regions. This method requires substantial resources, and is still in the planning phase.

Replication is the transfer of our tested practices to new regions through partner specialized regional nonprofits, offering an equally efficient but more cost-effective approach.

We train specialists, not only within non-profit organizations but also among all stakeholders involved, including care workers and orphanage staff. Our field supervision ensures that foundations implement our practices effectively, accounting for regional peculiarities and aiding in setting up internal processes and metrics.

3. Simplified onboarding for new employees: our case technology manual facilitates quick workplace integration for new employees.

4. Attracting major partners.

Having our practices included in the registries reassures potential partners and donors of the reliability of our foundation and the potential for tangible return on their investment. Companies today tend to prioritize the effectiveness of their investments when selecting a fund, as it affects their reputation among employees, managers, founders, clients, and consumers. In the social sector, the key measure of this effectiveness is social impact. Hence, being present in one of the evidence-based practices registries serves as a valuable filter in choosing a fund.

5. Collaboration with the government.

Enabling changes in the approaches and methods of work with our categories of beneficiaries at the level of the government requires proven practices and methodologies that clearly show the required specialist profiles, skills, work structuring, and performance evaluation.