Over the past few weeks, I’ve examined how “evidence-based” standards shape nonprofit work, how they can gatekeep access, and how they strain teams when expectations exceed infrastructure.

Yet one tension continues to surface in these conversations.

Many nonprofit teams feel pressure to choose between being evidence-based and being community-informed, as if rigor and relevance can’t coexist.

Strong organizations don’t abandon being data-driven to honor community voice, and they don’t silence community knowledge to appear credible.

They integrate both.