What are Metrics?

Metrics is a FieldDoc feature for tracking progress and assessing the impact of work being done within an organization or program. There are three types of metrics in FieldDoc

Organization Metrics: Metrics can be set at the organizational level to track the overall impact and progress toward achieving broader organizational goals within each activity record. The metrics that you create for your organization will be tracked across your portfolio's activity records. The planned value and implementation values are visible within many context views, such as at a Project or Organization view both on overview pages and within Atlases.

Program-Level Metrics: Program Managers set metrics for specific funding opportunities. When general users configure a Pact within the programs, the users will be given access to associate the programmatic metrics with their linked activities. These metrics can help track progress toward individual investment goals. As a further benefit, the metrics are aggregated across all Pacts and roll up to demonstrate progress toward the program's investment goals.

Modeled Metrics: For some activity types, users can turn on models to calculate estimated environmental benefits. Modeled metrics are displayed within each activity record. They are non-editable but can be removed from an activity record if desired.

Components of Metric Portfolio

The Portfolio of Metrics lists all metrics available for use within a portfolio or a Pact-linked Activity Record. The following table displays the fields for each metric that can be inputted in this portfolio. As users configure their activity record metrics, they will select from a list of metric names pulled from the portfolio list.

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How to track non-quantitative metrics

FieldDoc is optimized for tracking quantitative metrics. if you want to track qualitative information or other attributes as metrics, we recommend putting details in the description that give guidance on how to track (for example, if you want to track 'yes' 'no' type information, indicate that yes = 1, no = null).

Components of a Metric within an Activity Record

Metrics from both organization and program lists can be added to individual activity records. This is what they look like once the have been added into the project.

Metrics can be added from the table views or within the individual Edit Record views.

Create a Metric

Adding Metrics to an Activity

Once you have put together your portfolio of organization metrics, you can add them to your activity records. This tutorial shows you how to add metrics from a single activity view.

• Learn about metrics within individual Activities

Adding Metrics to a Pact

Pacts contain metrics assigned by the Pact Program Manager. Once a Pact is created and activities are linked to the Pact, users can assign program metric targets to their list of activities.

• Pact metrics allow users to attach programmatic metrics from a Program Manager's portfolio to activities within their portfolio. Read more about adding Pacts to learn about data sharing from project set up through implementation.

Why use metrics?

Tracking metrics in a tool like FieldDoc offers several key benefits, especially for organizations focused on environmental restoration, conservation, and community-driven projects. Here’s why tracking metrics through a platform like FieldDoc is valuable:

1. Data Centralization and Visibility
   Centralized Data Management: FieldDoc allows users to centralize all metrics and related data across projects, programs, and organizations in one platform. This ensures that all relevant stakeholders have access to consistent, up-to-date information, improving coordination and communication.
   Transparency: By tracking metrics in a centralized system, organizations can easily share progress with funders, partners, and the public, creating transparency and accountability in their efforts.

2. Measuring Impact and Progress
   Outcome Tracking: FieldDoc helps track not just activities but the outcomes of those activities, such as water quality improvements, habitat restoration, or carbon sequestration. Monitoring these key metrics ensures that organizations are not only performing tasks but are also achieving their environmental and programmatic goals.
   Goal Alignment: By associating metrics with specific activities, organizations can ensure that every action taken is aligned with broader goals, whether at the organizational, program, or project level.

3. Data-Driven Decision Making
   Informed Adjustments: When metrics reveal progress—or lack thereof—organizations can adjust their strategies based on real-time data. This leads to more effective project management, resource allocation, and planning for future initiatives.
   Monitoring Efficiency: Tracking metrics allows teams to evaluate which activities are delivering the most impact, helping optimize workflows and focus resources on efforts that generate the greatest return.

4. Aggregation and Reporting
   Roll-Up Reporting: Metrics aggregated at the program or organizational level provide a high-level view of overall progress, which can be particularly useful for funders and organizational leadership when assessing the cumulative impact of multiple projects.
   Easier Reporting: FieldDoc simplifies the reporting process by automatically generating data and visualizations from tracked metrics, which can be used to demonstrate progress to stakeholders and fulfill grant or funding requirements.

5. Benchmarking and Continuous Improvement
   Benchmarking Progress: Organizations can compare performance over time by tracking progress against baseline metrics and planned values. This helps in evaluating the long-term effectiveness of interventions and refining approaches in future projects.
   Encouraging Best Practices: Regular tracking of metrics fosters a culture of continuous improvement, as organizations can identify what works best and scale successful practices across projects and teams.

6. Engaging Stakeholders
   Stakeholder Engagement: Tools like FieldDoc enable organizations to share results and impact in real-time, which can help engage community members, volunteers, and stakeholders by showing how their efforts contribute to larger goals.
   Collaboration and Partnership: By sharing metric data with partners and funders, organizations can align efforts, demonstrate collective impact, and secure additional resources or support for future projects.

7. Compliance and Accountability
   Funding and Regulatory Compliance: Many funding sources and regulatory bodies require detailed tracking of metrics. FieldDoc helps ensure that all required metrics are captured, reported, and verified, reducing the risk of non-compliance.
   Auditable Records: By using FieldDoc, organizations maintain an auditable record of project activities and outcomes, which is critical for verifying achievements in future evaluations or audits.