Brinkerhoff Evaluation Institute - Success Case Method Certification

What are the key ingredients of a SCM?

Our rapid impact evaluation approach updates the highly regarded Success Case Method (SCM) to evaluate and accelerate the impact of strategic initiatives.

Communicate the story of your change initiatives with concrete evidence.
Capture snapshots of impact that inspire improvement and acceleration.
Identify the factors that contribute to and inhibit impact.
Provide evidence-based recommendations to accelerate impact and spread innovation.

What’s new?

Faster and more compelling evidence about what’s working and what is not
Application to a broader range of performance improvement initiatives, scalable from small-team short-cycle innovation projects to longer-term global new technology introduction, culture change, learning and development programs, and social change interventions.
More compelling and actionable reporting and feedback tools and formats.
Methods adapted to today’s demands for rapid evidence on ever-shorter execution cycles.
Access to a rich digital library and toolkit of example surveys, reports, interview protocols, recorded interview examples, checklists, job-aids, and more!

What’s the same?

Simplicity, practicality, and speed. Methods that can be used and understood by every-day practitioners.
No dubious claims of “ROI.”
Clear-cut evidence that senior leaders trust, believe in, and can act on.
A focus on actionability: evaluation that helps drive accelerated impact and continuous improvement.

Learn from the Thought Leaders

Learn directly from the originator and thought leader of the SCM, Professor Robert O. Brinkerhoff, and evaluation scholar, Dr. Daniela Schroeter. Both completed dozens of impact studies for such organizations as International Red Cross and Red Crescent, World Bank, World Meteorology Organization, Cargill, Kellogg Foundation, Merck, Ford Motor, Fannie Mae, Stanford University, INSEAD, and many more leading global companies, agencies, and foundations.

Who should attend?

Change-program leaders, HR, learning and development professionals, project managers, performance consultants, instructional designers, and others who are responsible for driving results from performance improvement and change initiatives.

What people say

Are you looking for the best approach to evaluate your training, innovation, or performance improvement initiatives? The answer is Brinkerhoff’s Success Case Method (SCM) certification. The SCM is a validated, reliable strategy for quickly measuring impact, and what has caused or prevented success. You will leave the course with a powerful, yet practical method, checklists, job aids, and the skills to rapidly assess the impact of your organization’s initiatives.

—Elaine Biech ATD’s 2020 Distinguished Contribution to Talent Development and author of Washington Post’s #1 best seller The Art and Science of Training

Rob Brinkerhoff has earned his place in the pantheon of the small handful of people who have been true innovators in workplace learning evaluation. His Success Case Methodology is a revolutionary tool for evaluating the success of learning and performance improvement programs. And now, Rob and his colleagues are providing us with a very special opportunity to dive deep to develop our skills in rapid impact evaluation in the newly offered SCM Certification program.

— Will Thalheimer, PhD, MBA, Principal, TiER1 Performance

For many years in my role as an organizational learning leader, I’ve led important learning initiatives that required an investment of time and money and also carried expectations for impact on the business. As such, understanding what was working and where we could improve the learning experiences to get higher yield was important.

The Success Case study allowed me to approach the analysis of various learning initiatives with the mindset of continuous improvement—not one of “proving training worked”. We knew that it worked better in some areas than others, and I wanted to know why. I like that the study is conducted based upon solid research principles and design, that the results were objective, and the report and recap provided a path for excellent discussion and decision making with my learning team and our business stakeholders.

—Julie Dervin

Price

USD $2,395 per person

$1,895 per person Special Introductory Rate for May or August sessions
$1,295 per additional person (up to three) from the same organization.
In-house private session pricing on request for larger same-organization groups.

Payment will take place via Stripe. If you need a different means to process your payment or have any questions, please get in touch.

Register for training

Events

Spring 2023 session

Kickoff: May 1, 2023 - You will receive an email with information about how to prepare for and connect to the life sessions.

Live sessions: 10:30 - 1:30 EST (Find your time)

May 11, 2023
May 18, 2023
May 25, 2023

Register for training

Summer 2023 session

Kickoff: July 24, 2023 - You will receive an email with information about how to prepare for and connect to the life sessions.

Live sessions: 10:30 - 1:30 EST (Find your time)

August 3, 2023
August 10, 2023
August 17, 2023

Register for training

Resource library and toolkit

To support your implementation of impact studies, the Certification includes unlimited access to a digital library of SCM resources pertinent to shape and support all steps of an impact study. This includes job aids, checklists, example report formats and templates, example surveys, interview protocols, MP4 audio examples of interviews, and so forth. The certification learning experience and performance support tools enable graduates to conduct SCM impact studies: identifying impact evaluation opportunities and benefits, planning, and implementing SCM impact studies, and preparing actionable reports with defensible conclusions and recommendations. BEI will be available for follow-up and individualized consultation and coaching if needed, provided at reduced rates for certification graduates.

What to expect

The instructional portion of the certification is a 100% virtual immersion program, delivered on the award-winning Promote digital learning experience platform (LxP). Participants will learn from individual self-paced module assignments interspersed before, between, and after the three weekly 3-hour synchronous interactive workshops.

Participation commitment

Participants can expect to dedicate approximately two (2) hours of independent self-paced work before the first live workshop, and the same level of engagement in between workshops 1 and 2, and 2 and 3. A capstone assignment is expected to take about three (3) hours of independent work after the third workshop in which participants have three weeks to complete capstone assignments and submit for personal feedback, to earn their badge and certificate.

SCM Certification FAQs

Q: If I do not have data collection and analysis skills, will I be able to lead an effective SCM impact projects?

Answer: Yes, though you will need access to technical expertise for some of the tasks in a SCM impact study, such as survey design, data analysis, data display, and so forth. In our experience, access to such skills is very available, and many studies we have conducted over the years included use of “hired hands”.

Q: What if I cannot free up the time to participate in the three live group sessions?

Answer: The three live sessions are the heart of the Certification and the learning activities are intended to reinforce learning and application. If your schedule forbids you to participate, then this program is not for you. On the other hand, we do know that occasional unexpected commitments arise that may interfere with participating fully in a particular session. For this reason, all live sessions will be recorded for people who wish to revisit them or fill in a missed portion.

Q: Do I need data collection and analysis skills to successfully participate in the certification?

Answer: No, you do not. Anyone with a few years of experience in a training or performance improvement or other organizational change initiative should be able to fully master and benefit from the program.