Browse Advocacy Organization Resources
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A Practical Guide to Evaluating Systems Change in a Human Services System Context This Guide is for evaluators who would like a practical “way in” to thinking about systems and systemschange. The key practical step the Guide takes is to limit the type of system to be evaluated to aparticular type of system (a type that systems change initiatives often target): a human servicesdelivery system (e.g. health, education, workforce development, etc.).Author: Nancy Latham Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2015 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.03 MB) -
ActionAid Update No. 3 The ActionAid Update newsletter series provides a summary of the impact of participatory policy work being undertaken by ActionAid, an international anti-poverty agency. The action research project was carried out over a period of three years in four countries: Brazil, Ghana, Nepal and Uganda. In each case, a research facilitator worked with 1-3 partner organizations to explore some of the challenges they were facing with their advocacy work. Author: ActionAid International Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Jul 1, 2003 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.71 MB) -
Advocacy Capacity Tool The Advocacy Capacity Tool (ACT) is for organizational assessment. ACT, released in May 2012, is a self-assessment tool that allows organizations of any size and issue area to gauge their advocacy skills, knowledge and abilities.
The Tool includes four sections of assessment, and gives users an individual scoring report as well as the ability to compare results with other organizations of similar size, issue area, and location.
Author: Bolder Advocacy (an initiative of Alliance for Justice) Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: May 1, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Download (719.51 KB) -
Advocacy Toolkit: Creating Campaigns that Change the World This toolkit was designed as a reference guide for staff of relief and development organizations who are seeking domestic (U.S.) support for international issues. The guide grew out of the work of InterAction's Outreach and Communications Working Group, "a forum for communications, fundraising, volunteering, advocacy, and grassroots organization, where professionals come together to share experiences, lessons learned, and collaborate whenever possible."
The advocacy toolkit contains eight sections:Author: InterAction Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 1, 2006
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An Advocate’s Perspective: Ten Considerations for Effective Advocacy Evaluation Ted Lempert, president of the Oakland, California-based advocacy and research organization Children Now, provides his ten considerations for effective advocacy evaluation. Lempert presented this document at the Advocacy Evaluation Advances convening in Los Angeles in January, 2009.
Do you agree with these ten considerations? Should something be added to this list? Please use the comment section below to contribute to the discussion.
Author: Lempert, Ted Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Jan 20, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Download (66.81 KB) -
An Evaluation Approach for an Environmental Think Tank and Advocacy Organization Johanna Morariu described how Innovation Network worked with the Post Carbon Institute to develop an organizational evaluation framework. We developed and fine tuned several assessment areas for think tank evaluation and advocacy evaluation with interview data collected from key informants. Then, in consultation with key staff from the Post Carbon Institute, we created an organizational theory of change. The theory contains information about the organization’s mission; audiences; strategies; focusing events, crises, and windows of opportunity; desired shifts, and impact. Author: Johanna Morariu Type: Opinion (blog, editorial) Date: Apr 19, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Background: Building Capacity for Public Policy Iniative The National Council of Nonprofit Associations (NCNA) evaluated the Building Capacity for Public Policy (BCPP) project. The results of the evaluation are summarized in this newsletter. NCNA states that "the lessons learned are applicable to any nonprofit organization trying to focus their efforts, to evaluate their readiness to engage in or to enhance their public policy efforts." It offers eight indicators of capacity for state associations to effectively engage in public policy: Author: National Council of Nonprofit Associations Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Oct 1, 2004 Be the first to review this resource! Download (549.21 KB) -
Best Practices for Advocacy The ACTION Project, a group of partners in seven countries that advocate for tuberculosis control, produced this document to highlight lessons learned from its advocacy successes. Note: This is not an evaluation focused publication, but elements of it (e.g., Chapter 2) do relate to evaluation. Author: ACTION: Advocacy to Control Tuberculosis Internationally Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Nov 1, 2007
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Building Capacity to Measure and Manage Performance This article explores what it takes to build the capacity for measuring and managing performance. It is written for nonprofits
Author: Matthew Forti & Kathleen Yazbak Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Apr 14, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Download (188.43 KB) -
Catholic Relief Services (CRS): Guide pour l’élaboration des cadres logiques et de résultats Vue d’ensemble
Le présent document propose une synthèse des orientations du Catholic Relief Services (CRS) pour l’élaboration des cadres logiques et de résultats.Author: Carlisle J. Levine Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 31, 2007 Be the first to review this resource! Download (210.09 KB) -
Catholic Relief Services' (CRS) Guidance for Developing Logical and Results Frameworks This document summarizes Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) guidance for developing logical and results frameworks.
• logical framework “is a systematic and visual way to present and share your understanding of the relationships among the resources you have to operate your program, the activities you plan, and the changes or results you hope to achieve.”CRS’ proframe and the U.K. Department for International Development’s (DFID’s) logframe are examples of logical frameworks.
Author: Carlisle J. Levine Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 31, 2007 Be the first to review this resource! Download (196.44 KB) -
Evaluation Capacity Building: Examples and Lessons from the Field Innovation Network developed these three introductory evaluation documents as part of Building Nonprofit Capacity to Evaluate, Learn, and Grow Impact, a workshop we presented in partnership with Grantmakers for Effective Organizations' Scaling What Works initiative. Author: Johanna Morariu, Innovation Network, Inc. Type: Research & Reports Date: Apr 1, 2012 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
EVALUATION CAPACITY BUILDING: Funder Initiatives to Strengthen Grantee Evaluation Capacity and Practice Evaluation Capacity Building (ECB) is the process of improving an organization’s ability to use evaluation to learn from its work and improve results. Organizational learning is incredibly important. Organizations that are adept at learning from mistakes and adapting to new challenges are more likely to be successful, and in the nonprofit sector, more likely to make significant progress toward mission-related outcomes. In general, ECB can be used to:
Author: Myia Welsh and Johanna Morariu Type: Research & Reports Date: Jun 15, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Download (248.37 KB) -
Evaluation Dashboards: Practical Solutions for Reporting Results In 2008 Innovation Network Senior Associates Veena Pankaj and Ehren Reed presented on dashboard usage for evaluation reporting at the annual Americal Evaluation Association. The handout and powerpoint slides cover four basic points:
- What is an evaluation dashboard?
- Why use a dashboard?
- When does an organization use a dashboard?
- How does an organization develop a dashboard?
Author: Ehren Reed and Veena Pankaj Type: Presentation Slides Date: Nov 7, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.62 MB) -
Guía para la Formulación de Marcos Lógicos y de Resultados de Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Sinopsis
Este documento presenta un resumen de la guía de CRS para formular marcos lógicos y de resultados.• Un marco lógico “es una forma sistemática y visual de presentar y compartir su visión de las relaciones entre los recursos con los que usted cuenta para operativizar su programa, las actividades que usted planifica y los cambios o resultados que espera alcanzar.”1 El proframe de CRS y el marco lógico del Departamento de Desarrollo Internacional del Reino Unido (DFID) son ejemplos de marcos lógicos.
Author: Carlisle J. Levine Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 31, 2007 Be the first to review this resource! Download (210.25 KB) -
Identify an Organization’s Life Cycle Stage and the Next Steps for Advocates This one-page tool describes six stages of organizational development and offers suggestions for actions advocates should consider at each stage. Author: Advocacy Institute Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Sep 10, 2004 Be the first to review this resource! Download (110.5 KB) -
Integrating Evaluative Capacity Into Organizational Practice: A Guide for Nonprofit & Philanthropic Organizations & Their Stakeh This publication, Integrating Evaluative Capacity into Organizational Practice, was developed in response to the continuing need expressed by nonprofit trainees to further assess and operationalize evaluative thinking. It extends information first provided in 2006 in a series of short, electronic articles called Evaluative Thinking Bulletins. The guidebook is intended to
answer the following questions:Author: Anita Baker and Beth Bruner Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jun 1, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.87 MB) -
Keystone's Feedback App This free and easy web-based tool from Keystone Accountability is a simple way of getting anonymous feedback from your partners on what they really think about your work. The application starts by asking you to choose from a standard list of questions, such as "How strongly would you recommend [your organization] to a colleague or friend?" Answers are on a scale of 1 to 10 or open-ended. You can also add questions. Next, you provide a list of respondents to receive the short survey. Keystone keeps data anonymous and confidential. Author: Keystone Accountability Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Oct 31, 2009 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Measuring Impact in Practice: A Case Study of The Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS) is the nation’s largest animal protection organization. Just like all nonprofits, The HSUS is accountable—to the thousands of animals it helps or protects each year, and to the thousands of individual, corporate, and foundation donors who enable The HSUS to fulfill its mission of celebrating animals and confronting cruelty.
Author: Beth Rosen Cohen Type: Research & Reports Date: Aug 1, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Download (97.59 KB) -
Measuring Impact in Practice: A Case Study of The Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS) is the nation’s largest animal protection organization.1
Just like all nonprofits, The HSUS is accountable—to the thousands of animals it helps or protects each year,
and to the thousands of individual, corporate, and foundation donors who enable The HSUS to fulfill its
mission of celebrating animals and confronting cruelty.Author: Beth Rosen Cohen Type: Research & Reports Date: Aug 31, 2010 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (97.59 KB) -
Report: "Ten Considerations for Advocacy Evaluation Planning: Lessons Learned from KIDS COUNT Grantee Experiences" The Annie E. Casey Foundation and Organizational Research Services, Inc. detail ten lessons learned from an evaluation of five KIDS COUNT grantees that began in 2007. The evaluation was designed to test some of the ideas presented in "A Guide to Measuring Advocacy and Policy", a report produced by AECF and ORS in 2006. Author: Organizational Research Services Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Download (289.93 KB) -
Report: "What Makes an Effective Advocacy Organization? A Framework for Determining Advocacy Capacity" TCC Group's Jared Raynor, Peter York and Shao-Chee Sim authored "What Makes an Effective Advocacy Organization? A Framework for Determining Advocacy Capacity" based on TCC's evaluation of a cohort of advocacy groups funded by The California Endowment. Author: TCC Group Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Download (5.81 MB) -
Strategic Communications Audits This Issue Brief, a Working Brief from the Communication Consortium Media Center's Media Evaluation Project, explains how a nonprofit organization can conduct an analysis of its communications efforts in the areas of Strategy, Implementation, and Support and Alignment. The Issue Brief can also be used as a tool, as it includes a table relating Essential Strategic Communications Practices and their corresponding Quality Criteria/Standards. Additionally, there is an organizational "Practice Maturity Scale" to assist a nonprofit in determining its level of communications expertise. Author: Coffman, Julia Type: Research & Reports Date: Oct 1, 2004
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The How and Why of Advocacy This publication offers many pieces of advice generally related to advocacy, as well as specifically in regard to how an organization can monitor and evaluate its advocacy work. The Monitoring and Evaluation section walks through key questions:
- Why monitor and evaluate your work?
- What kind of monitoring indicators are there?
- What to evaluate?
- Who defines success?
Author: BOND Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 18, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Download (203.13 KB) -
USAID Performance Monitoring and Evaluation TIPS TIPS
USAID's Performance Monitoring and Evaluation TIPS provide practical advice and suggestions to USAID managers and partners on issues related to performance monitoring and evaluation. These publications are supplemental references to the Automated Directive Service (ADS) Chapter 203 (pdf, 264kb).
Author: USAID Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 1, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link