Work the Record · Step 10

Count Outcomes, Not Activity

The record is not successful because Seeds of Vice worked hard. It is successful when something outside Seeds of Vice becomes knowable or changes.

Why this step exists

Advocacy organizations can easily mistake motion for progress. Emails sent, pages published, followers gained, and meetings held may support the work, but they are not themselves evidence that an institution answered, corrected, disclosed, or changed anything.

How to do it

  1. Record outreach as outreach, not victory.
  2. Count a substantive answer when the institution actually answers the question.
  3. Count document production when previously unavailable responsive material is obtained.
  4. Count a correction when an institution corrects a material public record or Seeds of Vice corrects its own.
  5. Count a policy or practice change only when the change can be independently documented.
  6. Keep the ledger at zero when zero is what the evidence supports.

What it looks like when done correctly

Ten inquiries were sent. Six received replies. Three produced records. One produced a correction. No policy change was documented. Proof of Progress reports exactly that, rather than calling ten emails ten victories.

What goes wrong

Publishing “major progress” because an agency acknowledged receipt, a legislator’s office sent a form response, or a new Atlas page went live.

Do not move on until you have this

A ledger entry that describes only the externally verifiable result and links back to the supporting record.

If you get stuck on this step, use the Work the record route on the Seeds of Vice contact page. Send the smallest useful source or question you have. Seeds of Vice can help identify the authority, narrow the question, or classify what came back.

Ask for help with this step

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