FEBRUARY 23, 2015

AV Lab’s director Ellen Schneider facilitated a discussion around “measurement literacy,” using Horticulture, among documentary filmmakers at Chicago documentary production company Kartemquin Films, Kartemquin is internationally recognized for crafting quality documentaries backed by innovative community engagement. See workshop description, below:

Our objective is to stimulate new thinking and “measurement literacy” among the media makers, grant makers, and other change makers who understand the essential role that story plays in social change. We want to ​have a conversation – candidly and without attribution — about the outpouring of new approaches, tools, debates, and advances associated with measuring the impact of storytelling. And we want to get your feedback on a new framework that Active Voice Lab is developing, designed to highlight the various strengths that different kinds of stories bring to movement building and civic engagement.

Questions that will be addressed include:

>How you measure your creative work’s contributions to social change …or is that even a fair question? What are your experiences with external “evaluation” via donors, funders, partners, audiences, etc.
>What do you wish these players knew about the creative process?  Does measuring impact help you or hinder you; or is it more complicated than that?
​>How can we talk to funders more productively to raise money for impact and outreach around our work?​