Browse practice Resources
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#JAGUnity2014: Innovations in Evaluating Social Movements Today, social movement organizers are grappling with big questions: What is the long-term impact we are hoping to make? How can we measure the progress we've made thus far? How can we learn from past practice? On June 7, 2014, Innovation Netowrk's William Fenn spoke on a panel with with Deepak Pateriya and Sian O'Faolain of the Center for Community Change and Hillary Klein of Make the Road New York to try and answer some of these questions. Author: Will Fenn, Deepak Pateriya, Sian O'Faolain, Hillary Klein Type: Presentation Slides Date: Jun 7, 2014 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
5 Evaluation Lessons From a Recovering Program Officer (Presentation slides) As a profession, evaluators must constantly demonstrate the value of their work to remain relevant. Each evaluation represents a significant investment in resources that many argue could be used to provide more programming. Author: Will Fenn Type: Presentation Slides Date: Oct 17, 2013 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (4.05 MB) -
5 Evaluation Lessons from a Recovering Program Officer (recording) As a profession, evaluators must constantly demonstrate the value of their work to remain relevant. Each evaluation represents a significant investment in resources that many argue could be used to provide more programming. A primary concern of maintaining the value proposition of the evaluation field is ensuring that evaluations remain manageable and useful to all participants. The Ignite session offered five succinct lessons from a former foundation Program Officer that can be applied across program types to help nonprofits and foundations improve evaluation coordination and use. Author: Will Fenn Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Oct 17, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
A Guide to Measuring Advocacy and Policy This guide provides some perspective on where the field of philanthropy has been with regard to evaluation of advocacy and policy and also acknowledges the unique issues and challenges associated with measuring these efforts. In addition, this guide serves as an invitation to grantmakers to engage in and expand thinking about evaluation as it relates to advocacy and policy efforts. As seriously as many grantmakers take their investments in this area, foundations should also take seriously the need to advance evaluation of advocacy and policy work.
Author: Prepared for Annie E. Casey Foundation Research by Organizational Research Services Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2007 Be the first to review this resource! Download (255.04 KB) -
ActionAid Update No. 2 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 country, 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: Apr 1, 2003
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Advocacy and Policy Change This issue of Harvard Family Research Project's The Evaluation Exchange focuses entirely on advocacy evaluation. It features over two dozen articles on current evaluation practice, including theory, case studies, interviews, and practical tips. Author: Coffman, Julia (ed.) Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Mar 1, 2007
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Advocacy Evaluation Advances Framing Paper This framing paper provides the rationale, goals, and background information for the Advocacy Evaluation Advances convening held in Los Angeles on January 20-21, 2009. Produced prior to the convening, the paper offers an overview of topics to be discussed and current advocacy evaluation practice, illustrated with real-life examples drawn from the convening agenda.
Author: The California Endowment Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 20, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Download (314.5 KB) -
Advocacy Evaluation Update (Issue #7, October 2009) The seventh issue of Advocacy Evaluation Update (AEU) newsletter was the first produced as part of the strategic partnership between Innovation Network and the Center for Evaluation Innovation. It was also the first edited by Julia Coffman, an experienced evaluator and the Center's Director.
1. Feature: Good in Theory, But Does It Work in Practice? By Simon Starling, Oxfam Great Britain
2. Profiles from the Field: The Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California San Francisco
Author: The Center for Evaluation Innovation; Innovation Network Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Oct 28, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Download (491.56 KB) -
Agency Experiences with Outcome Measurement: Survey Findings As of January 2000, 400 United Ways across the country were asking programs they fund
to identify and measure their outcomes—the benefits or changes the programs want
participants to experience as a result of their services. United Ways are not alone. Many
state and local government agencies, foundations, managed care systems, and accrediting bodies
have added outcome measurement to the list of performance and accountability measures
they require of nonprofit organizations within their sphere.Author: United Way of America Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2000 Be the first to review this resource! Download (209.74 KB) -
Approaches to Supporting Evaluation Capacity Building Myia Welsh and Johanna Morariu outline six lessons gleaned from their evaluation capacity building experiences with nonprofits, highlighting Innovation Network's white paper titled "Evaluation Capacity Building: Funder Initiatives to Strengthen Grantee Evaluation Capacity and Practice." Author: Johanna Morariu and Myia Welsh Type: Opinion (blog, editorial) Date: Aug 28, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Assessing to Achieve High Performance: What Nonprofits Are Doing and How Foundations Can Help The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) wanted to understand the state of performance assessment practice among nonprofits to help foundations target support where it is most needed. Author: The Center for Effective Philanthropy Type: Research & Reports Date: Apr 1, 2015 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.49 MB) -
Continuous Progress: Better Advocacy Through Evaluation Continuous Progress is an online collection of planning and evaluation tools and services for advocates and funders. Continuous Progress "Strategic Services" is a consulting practice that provides planning, evaluation, and communications expertise. Their featured project, the "Advocacy Progress Planner," is an online tool based on the Advocacy & Policy Change Composite Logic Model (q.v.) The website also offers guides for domestic (U.S.) and global advocacy efforts. Author: Global Interdependence Initiative Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 1, 2006
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Current Advocacy Evaluation Practice Framing Paper Written for the Advocacy Evaluation Advances convening in January 2009, this paper summarizes the current state of advocacy evaluation practice. The paper identifies four evaluation design questions and then offers common responses to those questions: Who will do the evaluation?; What will the evaluation measure?; When will the evaluation take place?; and What methodology will the evaluation use?
Author: Julia Coffman Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 31, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Download (297 KB) -
Dynamic Dozen: Delivery. Tips from top presenters from the American Evaluation Association This study consisted of interviews with a dozen of the top AEA presenters to get their secrets about how to make and deliver great presentations. Their comments were grouped into three stages of presenting: message, design, and
Author: Anjanette Raber Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Aug 1, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Download (489.15 KB) -
Evaluability Assessment to Improve Public Health Policies, Programs, and Practices This article describes how evaluability assessment has benefited public health and could do so in future. We describe the rationale, history, and evolution of evaluability assessment. We outline the steps in the method and distinguish it from related concepts. We then illustrate how evaluability assessment can benefit public health in five ways:
Author: Laura C. Leviton, Laura Kettel Khan, Debra Rog, Nicola Dawkins, and David Cotton Type: Research & Reports Date: Jul 1, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Download (380.53 KB) -
Evaluating Community Change: A Framework for Grantmakers The publication offers a framework for thinking about how to measure progress and results in place-based andcommunity change initiatives.Author: Grantmakers for Effective Organization (GEO) Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 1, 2014 Be the first to review this resource! Download (2.9 MB) -
Evaluating Complexity: Propositions for Improving Practice Evaluating Complexity: Propositions for Improving Practice asks civil society organizations to challenge the assumptions behind traditional evaluation models as they take steps toward evaluating complex initiatives and initiatives in complex environments.
Author: FSG Type: Research & Reports Date: Nov 17, 2014 Be the first to review this resource! Download (2.85 MB) -
Evaluating the Effectiveness of DFID's Influence with Multilaterals This report is based on investigations carried out over five weeks involving approximately 40 organizations in the international NGO community. The report covers four main topics
Author: Davies, Rick Type: Research & Reports Date: Aug 1, 2001 Be the first to review this resource! Download (436.5 KB) -
Evaluation Blogging: Improve Your Practice, Share Your Expertise, and Strengthen Your Network (Presentation slides) Want to start blogging about evaluation, but not sure where to start? Started, but want to know what to expect (or what to do next, or how to keep it going)? Ready to take your independent consulting practice to the next level? Author: Ann K. Emery, Susan Kistler, Chris Lysy, Sheila B. Robinson Type: Presentation Slides Date: Oct 19, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Download (2.84 MB) -
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 for the Way We Work Michael Quinn Patton describes the developmental evaluation approach. Here is an excerpt from the article:
Author: Michael Quinn Patton Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Mar 21, 2006 Be the first to review this resource! Download (886 KB) -
Evaluation Needs Assessment The Evaluation Needs Assessment was created for use with a grantee cohort of twelve organizations, which received grant support and capacity building services for a period of three years.Directions: Share the tool in advance of an in-person meeting to allow for preparation. Meet to discuss an organization’s existing evaluation practice and goals for improvement. Seek mutual agreement of the evaluation capacity provider and grantee regarding how to apply evaluation technical assistance.Author: Johanna Morariu Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Apr 25, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Download (215.84 KB) -
Evaluation Principles and Practices: An Internal Working Paper The purpose of this document is to advance the Foundation’s existing work so that our evaluation practices become more consistent across the organization. We hope to create more common understanding of our philosophy, purpose, and expectations regarding evaluation as well as clarify staff roles and available support. With more consistency and shared understanding, we expect less wheel re-creation across program areas, greater learning from each other’s efforts, and faster progress in designing meaningful evaluations and applying the results.
Author: Fay Twersky & Karen Lindblom Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 22, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.42 MB) -
Failing to learn and learning to fail (intelligently): How great organizations put failure to work to improve and innovate The paper provides insight into what makes learning from failure so difficult to put into practice. The authors address the question of why organizations fail to learn from failure. They identify pernicious barriers embedded in both technical and social systems that make collective learning processes unusual in organizations, and present recommendations for what managers can do to overcome these barriers.
Author: Mark D. Cannon and Amy C. Edmondson Type: Research & Reports Date: Feb 5, 2004 Be the first to review this resource! Download (388.5 KB) -
Guidance Note #4: Use of Impact Evaluation Results This is the fourth guidance note in a four-part series of notes related to impact evaluation developed by InterAction with financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation.This fourth guidance note, Use of Impact Evaluation Results, highlights three themes crucial for effective utilization of evaluation results.
Author: David Bonbright Type: Research & Reports Date: Nov 7, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.84 MB)