I came across the Barcelona Principles a few months ago. They refer to the Barcelona Declaration of Research Principles, a set of seven voluntary guidelines established by the public relations (PR) industry to measure the efficiency of PR campaigns.
First drafted in 2010, they were revised in 2015 and state:
- Goal setting and measurement are fundamental to communication and public relations
- Measuring communication outcomes is recommended versus only measuring outputs
- The effect on organisational performance can and should be measured where possible
- Measurement and evaluation require both qualitative and quantitative methods
- AVEs (Advertising Value Equivalent) are not the value of communication
- Social Media can and should be measured consistently with other media channels
- Measurement and evaluation should be transparent, consistent and valid
I think we need a similar set of principles for workplace learning. We’ve become stuck in models and processes and continue to count the wrong end of the person. We deliver a different kind of support now and need to look at measurement differently. So here is my first draft of some measurement principles for learning:
- Goal setting and measurement are fundamental to workplace learning and development
- Measuring learning performance outcomes is always recommended versus only measuring outputs
- The effect on organisational performance can and should always be measured
- Measurement and evaluation require both qualitative and quantitative methods
- Learning cost figures are not the value of learning
- Social learning can and should be measured consistently with other learning activity
- Measurement and evaluation should be transparent, consistent and valid
I’m going to have a go with these and will expand on them in the next few weeks – who’s going to join me?
#ItStartsWithMe
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I agree that we need new measurement principles for workplace learning.
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