Inside the Black Box - Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

permanent job opportunities. These organizations expressed a desire to deepen engagement with the
clients they already serve. A director at one organization said,
So instead of in the next year saying we served 7,000 and then 14,000 we wanted to say, “No, no. The
number served actually went down but the services accessed went up.”
On the other hand, several of the organizations were committed to opening new locations, serving new
clients, and adding new programs in new areas of training.
A few other areas for growth were identified by the organizations. Two of the six organizations expressed
a desire to expand their employer relationships, one specifically in terms of employer presence on their
board. Two additional organizations will focus on expanding their measurement and data collection
efforts in order to improve data tracking for program evaluation and to implement a new data tracking
program, which they view as essential to securing funding and evaluating program success. Organizations
can monitor their progress toward their goals by tracking their number of services, employer partnerships,
and clients served each year, and tracking whether any changes in numbers align with the type of growth
they desire. Whichever direction organizations decide to grow, a commitment to their mission provides
the backbone for all potential change.
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