Youth Development Insight

By Somongkol Teng As a program evaluator, I’m often approached for assistance with data collection, analysis, and most importantly, reporting. People often tell me they can't create eye-catching reports or slides because they don't know graphic design or aren't computer-savvy. Good data visualization and communication require more than good computer skills; similarly, a visually appealing slide deck or report doesn’t always imply effective communication.  In this blog post, I’ll share with you five tips for how you can effectively communicate your data visually. Think of your audience(s) Different audiences (e.g. community leaders, funders, staff, parents, youth, etc.) all have different interests or needs, which can affect the choice of format and data you develop for them. A county commissioner, for example, may prefer a high-level overview of the data, whereas program staff may want something more specific, such as how to improve their program. By knowing exactly what yo...

By Samantha Grant Good data visualization matters. I think about, blog about  and train others on ways to improve the way that we share our evaluation findings. Recently, I had personal evidence of how good data visualization matters. My daughter came home from school upset because she scored "urgent intervention" on a standardized math test. I initially didn't believe her because she's a strong student, even though she would rather have her nose in a book than solve multiplication problems. We went through all of the reasons that her score could have been low-- from a bad test-taking day to the test covering topics that weren't discussed in class.