Interaction Institute for Social Change

Whole Measures: Transforming Communities by Measuring What Matters Most

List of Trainings | Workshop Schedule | Workshop Logistics

Whole Measures – A Tool for Creating Change

Whole Measures offers a flexible approach to describing and measuring the relationships and impact we seek to create in our communities and organizations. It helps us to understand how to evaluate our work in a holistic way that aligns with our values and communicates that we are making real and lasting change. Whole Measures provides the foundation for a highly integrated, whole systems approach that effectively embraces a wide variety of issues such as social equity, biodiversity, human rights, ecosystem health, civic engagement, and economic vitality.

The Center for Whole Communities and the Interaction Institute for Social Change collaborated and created a workshop that explores the ten values-based practices detailed in Whole Measures. The workshop provides the practical and transformational skills needed to collaboratively implement these practices in your organization or community. This experience is particularly well suited to those charged with engaging diverse stakeholders in a community or organizational change initiative.

In this workshop you will learn to:

  • See and approach your work from a systems perspective
  • Understand key concepts and tools for what it means to be a healthy, whole community
  • Apply concrete skills for implementing Whole Measures, including answering these questions:
    ? What is the ultimate goal of our change effort?
    ? Who are the key stakeholders for this change effort?
    ? How do I involve stakeholders in decision-making?
    ? What is the overall process we will use in this change effort?
    ? What specific activities will we use to engage stakeholders?
    ? How do we effectively facilitate stakeholder conversations?


Locations and Logistical Details for Whole Measures

Whole Measures workshops are offered in three locations - at IISC in Boston, in San Francisco, and at Center for Whole Communities’ Knoll Farm in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The Boston and San Francisco locations are non-residential; the Vermont location is a residential program. Details below.

May 1-3, 2012 in San Francisco, CA - The workshop in San Francisco is non-residential (participants are responsible for their own accommodations) and held at the offices of Compass Point, on Market Street in a bustling business district nearby to public transportation. The workshop starts each day at 8:30 a.m., ends at 5 p.m., and includes breakfast and lunch on each of the three days. Tuition for the San Francisco workshop is $650. Click here to register.

July 10-13, 2012 at Center for Whole Communities, Fayston, VT - Knoll Farm is a beautiful learning center in central Vermont, which is about one hour from Burlington and the nearest airport, or a four hour drive from Boston. The workshop is residential, in a retreat center setting. Accommodations are in private tent cabins or small yurts and meals are served communally in a timber-frame barn. Food is all local, organic and mostly vegetarian. The workshop starts at 3 p.m. on the first day and ends at 11 a.m. on the last day. We strongly encourage participants to stay in residence the entire time in order to have a full experience and help create a community with others during our time together. Also, for that same reason, we encourage you to leave your laptops at home and to use your phones only in case of emergency. Tuition for the Vermont workshop is $750 including accommodations and meals. Click here to register.

December 4-6, 2012 at IISC in Boston, MA - The workshop in Boston is non-residential (participants are responsible for their own accommodations). It is held at IISC in the Seaport District of Boston, nearby to both Logan Airport and South Station. The workshop starts each day at 8:30 a.m., ends at 5 p.m., and includes breakfast and lunch on each of the three days. Tuition for the Boston workshop is $650. Click here to register.


Whole Measures Testimonials

The Whole Measures training was experiential in the best sense of the word. We learned by doing, we learned from each other and we learned from the expertise of the facilitators. Our imaginations and creative thinking caps were well exercised throughout the program, with a healthy focus on how to apply the Whole Measures model to our particular needs. Whole Measures is a down to earth tool for organizations and communities who want to approach strategic planning in a more inspired way.
- Cindy Heath, Executive Director, GP RED; Research, Education, and Development for Health, Recreation, and Land Agencies

The workshop really challenged me to think more holistically about my work in social justice, gifted me with an opportunity to reflect on transformational leadership and prepared me to integrate real tools in my practice.
– Marisol McGee, OpenSource Leadership

[The workshop] makes it so easy and clear to guide a group rooted in values through an inclusive, multi-stakeholder process to achieve a plan that will build integrity and be evaluated in a way that reflects the intentions of the community.
– Diego Angarita, Food Systems Organizer, Nuestras Raices

The workshop was overflowing with information on how to transform how I function and approach my role as a leader, how to look differently at what needs to be measured, how to bring my personal and mostly deeply held values into every moment of my life (work and non-work) and how to slow down to think more about storied and relationships more than results and time crunches.
– Janet Bergman, Self-Employed Consultant