Browse Efforts to Outcomes Resources
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2008 Civic Engagement Evaluation Assessment and Recommendations for the Field 2008 was a historic year for civic participation in the United States. The Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP) brings together grantmakers committed to enhancing democratic participation in all aspects of civic life. Its nearly 80 members comprised of private, public and community foundations collectively contributed scores of millions of dollars to non-partisan civic engagement efforts of all kinds nationwide.
Author: Lacy M. Serros Type: Research & Reports Date: Dec 1, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Download (699.52 KB) -
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) -
Advocacy Evaluation Update #9 In This Issue:
1. Feature: Framework of Factors that Affect Political Support
Why do some issues receive priority attention from political leaders while others receive very little? Political scientist Jeremy Shiffman has developed a framework that offers a response to this question.
2. Spotlight: Evaluating Community Organizing
Catherine Crystal Foster and Justin Louie identify what to consider when evaluating community organizing efforts. They also offer example benchmarks and methods for capturing organizing outcomes.
Author: Julia Coffman (ed.) Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: May 1, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Download (329.6 KB) -
Assessing Capacity for Community Change Efforts: Learnings From an Adaptive Initiative (Presentation slides) Should community change efforts be focused on funding coalitions or funding a flexible group of community leaders? The Kansas Health Foundation has embraced a four-pronged community change model that targets community leaders as key agents of change within each of their funded communities. Author: Kat Athanasiades, Veena Pankaj, Deanna Van Hersh Type: Presentation Slides Date: Oct 17, 2013 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (682.32 KB) -
Champions and “Champion-ness”: Measuring Efforts to Create Champions for Policy Change Creating “policy champions” who can bring about changes in public policy is central to many advocacy
projects. As advocacy advisors and evaluators for nonprofits and foundations, we work with a broad variety
of clients. Whether they aspire to increase access to contraception in Tanzania or to playgrounds in South
Central Los Angeles, we are likely to hear that identifying, informing, supporting or engaging policy champions is
a key element of their strategy.Author: David Devlin-Foltz and Lisa Molinaro Type: Research & Reports Date: Aug 31, 2010 Point K Pick
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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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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 Foundation-Supported Capacity Building: Lessons Learned This study of lessons learned from evaluations of philanthropic capacitybuilding programs used a national database of 473 programs, and a survey and interviews with 87 funders (82 foundations or foundation collaboratives, and five foundation-supported intermediaries) to answer two questions:
(1) How do foundations that support nonprofit capacity building evaluate their grantmaking and direct service activities?
(2) What lessons can be learned from valuation, both to improve these programs and justify the investments made in them?
Author: Thomas E. Backer, Jane Ellen Bleeg & Kathryn Groves Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Download (152.27 KB) -
Evaluating Social Justice Advocacy: A Values Based Approach Although social justice is a concept inherent in many advocacy efforts, it often remains unspoken or is
ignored during the evaluation process. In some ways, the use of a social justice lens when evaluating
advocacy should be self-evident. If advocacy efforts aim for social justice outcomes, evaluations should look
for evidence that such outcomes have been achieved. But understanding just what social justice means can
be a challenge, as can knowing how to look for it in the context of complex and often long-term advocacy efforts.Author: Barbara Klugman Type: Research & Reports Date: Aug 1, 2010 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (334.73 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 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) -
Handbook Of Data Collection Tools: Companion To “A Guide To Measuring Advocacy And Policy” This handbook of tools is a companion to ORS' "A Guide To Measuring Advocacy and Policy" (q.v.) The data collection tools included in the handbook have been used in real-world evaluation efforts, and are applicable to six outcomes areas:
- Shifts in Social Norms
- Strengthened Organizational Capacity
- Strengthened Alliances
- Strengthened Base of Support
- Improved Policies; and
- Changes in Impact.
Author: Reisman, Jane et al. Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Apr 30, 2007
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Indicators for Programming in Human Rights and Democratic Development: A Preliminary Study This paper is the result of a preliminary study on using indicators to track progress in human rights and democratic development efforts. The paper briefly outlines the experience of development organizations in measuring results in political development. It then examines some of the methodological issues relating to performance indicators, generally, and human rights and democratic development programming indicators, in particular. Author: Kapoor, Ilan Type: Research & Reports Date: Jul 1, 1996 Be the first to review this resource! Download (112.62 KB) -
Innovation for Successful Societies "Country Experiences Case Studies" The ISS Country Experiences case series chronicles reformers' efforts to gather support for reform and build institutions in a wide array of contexts. Cases start with a problem and a decision maker, then explore the options considered, implementation challenges, mid-course corrections, and results. The cases rest on interviews with reform leaders, advisers, and critics or monitors.
Case studies include a diverse number of policy focus areas including
Author: Princeton University Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Linking the Levels? The Organisation of UK Development NGO’s Advocacy Dr. Hudson researched the advocacy experiences of United Kingdom-based NGOs working with the UK Department for International Development. He discusses his research findings and their implications for policy and practice, including specific findings in regard to evaluation of advocacy efforts. Though written specifically about UK-based development and advocacy NGOs, the report's findings and recommendations may be applicable to any NGO engaged in advocacy. Author: Hudson, Alan Type: Research & Reports Date: Jun 1, 2002 Be the first to review this resource! Download (207.29 KB) -
Making Change Happen This conference report discusses overall themes and topics from a November 2001 meeting of the same name, attended by forty-nine people engaged in international advocacy and citizen participation efforts. In its final chapter, "How to Assess Success," the publication discusses many of the tensions and issues in evaluating advocacy efforts, as well as the need to perform evaluations in order to further learning. Author: Clark, Cindy Type: Research & Reports Date: Nov 1, 2001 Be the first to review this resource! Download (796.03 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) -
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 SOCIAL CAPITAL: AN EXPLORATION IN COMMUNITY– RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP Large numbers of social policy initiatives and community organizations are currently engaged in “community building” efforts that seek, in part, to strengthen informal relationships and the organizational infrastructure of communities and to build the capacity of communities to manage and foster community change. One critical requirement for improving such practice is for communities to have greater access and capacity to use information for planning, advocacy, and assessment. Author: Robert J. Chaskin, Robert M. Goerge, Ada Skyles, and Shannon Guiltinan Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Oct 1, 2006 Be the first to review this resource! Download (308.28 KB) -
Mission Possible: Evaluating Advocacy Grants This article discusses the George Gund Foundation’s efforts in persuading the Ohio state legislature to create a trust fund to support low-income needs. It highlights benefits of advocacy, specifically capturing and leveraging public resources to further policy goals. The article offers several advocacy evaluation tips to funders, including discussion and agreement on common expectations between funders and grantees, accomodations for the adaptive nature of advocacy work, and focus of contribution over attribution. Author: Egbert, Marcia and Hoechstetter, Susan Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2006 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Monitoring and Evaluating Advocacy Efforts: Learning from Successes and Challenges This chapter, part of a larger workbook for health advocacy issues, details three types of evaluation used to evaluate the achievements of advocacy efforts: process evaluation, outcome evaluation, and impact evaluation. Author: Advocates for Youth Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 1, 1998 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Room for Improvement: Foundations' Support of Nonprofit Performance Assessment Amidst growing pressure for nonprofits to measure and assess their performance, the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) finds that nonprofits sorely lack the support they need. CEP finds that 81 percent of the nonprofits surveyed believe that nonprofits should demonstrate the effectiveness of their work by using performance measures.
CEP also finds that:
» Nonprofits very much want to be able to understand their performance and are taking steps to do so. Nonprofits want more help in performance assessment efforts than they are currently receiving from their foundation funders.Author: Brock, Andrea; Buteau, Ellie; Herring, An-Li Type: Research & Reports Date: Sep 1, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.04 MB) -
Software for Nonprofit Evaluation and Case Management Many systems exist to manage the wealth of data nonprofits collect. As part of our evaluation consulting work, Innovation Network team members are often asked to recommend systems to our nonprofit clients. The purpose of this document is to share with the field our most recent scan of existing software (a/o January 2010). We hope this information is helpful to you, and we encourage you to contact us with feedback. Author: Johanna Morariu, Innovation Network, Inc. Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 31, 2010 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (86.51 KB) -
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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Strengthening Family Planning Policies and Programs in Developing Countries: An Advocacy Toolkit This toolkit "assist[s] advocates in the family planning/reproductive health field in their efforts to promote policy dialogue on the health, social, and economic benefits of increasing access to family planning services. By tailoring the messages included in the toolkit, advocates can present culturally relevant arguments to promote family planning and birth spacing in their particular settings." It contains several sample tools for advocacy planning. Author: The POLICY Project Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Dec 2, 2005 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.16 MB)