A Guide to Actionable Measurement

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life.

This guide provides a basis for a common understanding of results measurement at the Gates Foundation. The guide uses the term ‘measurement’ to refer to indicator monitoring, evaluation, as well as long-term impact tracking, and is intended to inform choices about measurement within funder strategies. The guide includes:

  1. an overview of why we measure
  2. a framework for thinking about Actionable Measurement
  3. guidelines for how to apply Actionable Measurement to our work
  4. examples of how the framework may be used by programs