Browse planning tools Resources
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Approaching An Evaluation: Ten Issues to Consider Ten issues to consider before beginning an evaluation. Author: Brad Rose, Ph.D. Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jun 14, 2010
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"Participatory Performance Story Reporting" Clear Horizon, an M&E company in Australia, describes its participatory approach, specifically as it relates to the method of performance story reporting (PPSR). The company defines performance story reports as "essentially a short report about how a program contributed to outcomes." This page on their website includes links to other pages that describe the structure, process, and limitations of this the PPSR method. Author: Clear Horizon Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Dec 31, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Download (161.39 KB) -
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 -
8 Steps to Develop an Evaluation Plan Innovation Network identified eight key steps in our 2005 evaluation of a U.S. federal policy change campaign. These steps may also be useful in other advocacy evaluations. Author: Innovation Network, Inc. Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Oct 1, 2005
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A Menu of Assessment Activities This brief menu of questions provides a simple, straightforward overview of evaluation activities. Author: Brett A. Magill Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Feb 24, 2010
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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) -
Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab Executive Training: Evaluating Social Programs 2009 This five-day program on evaluating social programs provides a thorough understanding of randomized evaluations and pragmatic step-by-step training for conducting one's own evaluation. While the course focuses on randomized evaluations, many of the topics, such as measuring outcomes and dealing with threats to the validity of an evaluation, are relevant for other methodologies.
Courses have been recorded and loaded as videos online, split up by topic. You may also access the course lecture notes and assignments.Author: Esther Duflo, Rachel Glennerster, & Abhijit Banerjee Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: May 1, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Advocacy & Policy Change Composite Logic Model and associated materials This collaborative work by more than 50 advocates, grantmakers, and evaluators offers a way to improve communication in the advocacy evaluation field by articulating common goals, outcomes, and indicators. Supplements to the Model include guiding questions, definitions, and samples based on hypothetical advocacy situations—one each for the intended "strategy" and "evaluation" uses of the Model. There is also an online tool based on the Model.
Author: Coffman, Julia, et al. Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Apr 1, 2007
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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 Capacity Tool (ACT) Report: First 100 User Groups (Executive Summary) In September 2013, Alliance for Justice’s Bolder Advocacy Initiative released a report offering a glimpse into how nonprofit organizations view their capacity for public policy work. The report is based on data from the first 100 groups to complete AFJ’s online self-assessment tool, the Advocacy Capacity Tool.Author: Alliance for Justice Type: Research & Reports Date: Sep 1, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Download (703.04 KB) -
Agency and Empowerment: A Proposal for Internationally Comparable Indicators This article proposes a short list of internationally-comparable indicators of inclividual agency and empowerment (and the corresponcling survey questions). Data from these indicators would enable researchers to explore research and policy issues such as the interconnections between empowerment and economic or human development. The article sUNeys definitions of agency and empowerment, adopts the definition from Amartya Sen, supplemented by Rowlands' typology. Author: Solava Ibrahim and Sabina Alkire Type: Research & Reports Date: Jun 30, 2007 Be the first to review this resource! Download (2.21 MB) -
All About Marketing The marketing section of Carter McNamara's Free Management Library covers the following marketing topics:
- Basics and Planning,
- Inbound Marketing,
- Outbound Marketing,
- Protecting Ownership of Your Products/Services,
- Evaluating Your Marketing Efforts, and
- Marketing On Telephone and/or Online.
Author: McNamara, Carter (ed.) Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 18, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Alliance for Justice Advocacy Capacity Tool 2013: Public Aggregate Report In September 2013, Alliance for Justice’s Bolder Advocacy Initiative released a report offering a glimpse into how nonprofit organizations view their capacity for public policy work. The report is based on data from the first 100 groups to complete AFJ’s online self-assessment tool, the Advocacy Capacity Tool.Author: UW-Stout Applied Research Center Type: Research & Reports Date: Sep 1, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.76 MB) -
An Essential Guide to SWOT Analysis The Essential Guide to SWOT Analysis is the end product of a unique collaboration. As previously noted, through my work at a startup, I realized that there were no great, comprehensive SWOT guides out there, especially for people in the business world. So, I enlisted my college mentor, Justin Gomer, a Lecturer at UC Berkeley, and we decided to make a comprehensive guide ourselves. Author: Justin Gomer & Jackson Hille Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 1, 2014 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Applying Culturally-Responsive Communication in Hispanic/Latino Communities Understanding cultural norms can help you to better reach, communicate with and educate your audience. When you meet someone new, you should always remember to be open and respectful of their beliefs. This resource provides some norms that are common among all Hispanic/Latino cultures, and examples of a few of those norms and ways to improve communication with the communities you serve. Author: Susan G. Komen Foundation Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Dec 1, 2014 Be the first to review this resource! Download (370.56 KB) -
Assessing and Evaluating Change in Advocacy Fields This white paper aims to bring together emerging ideas about how to assess advocacy fields and evaluate advocacy field building initiatives. Dr. Lynn and other evaluators have developed a core set of dimensions to help organize thinking about these complex advocacy fields, and have begun experimenting with indicators of a strong field, tools for assessing the baseline of a field, and strategies for measuring change in fields. This paper seeks to test and refine some of these ideas.Author: Dr. Jewlya Lynn Type: Research & Reports Date: Sep 1, 2014 Be the first to review this resource! Download (790.23 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) -
Assessing Capacity for Community Change Efforts: Learnings From an Adaptive Initiative [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. Innovation Network, the evaluation partner for the Kansas Health Foundation's Healthy Communities Initiative, developed and deployed an assessment tool designed to contribute to the assessment of leadership capacity in effecting community change. Author: Kat Athanasiades, Veena Pankaj, and Deanna Van Hersh Type: Presentation Slides Date: Oct 17, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Assessing the Capacity of Community Coalitions to Advocate for Change (Presentation Handout) Research has shown that high-capacity coalitions are more successful in effecting community change. While a number of coalition assessment tools have been developed, documentation is scarce regarding how they are implemented, how the results are used, and whether they are predictive of coalition success in collaborative community change efforts.
Author: Veena Pankaj, Kat Athanasiades, Ann Emery, Johanna Morariu Type: Presentation Slides Date: May 22, 2013 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (377.49 KB) -
Basic Guide to Outcomes-Based Evaluation for Nonprofit Organizations with Very Limited Resources Aimed specifically at small nonprofits with limited resources, this is a complete, practical guide for a small scale, do-it-yourself outcomes evaluation. Author: McNamara, Carter (ed.) Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 18, 2008 Point K Pick
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Basic Guide to Program Evaluation Carter McNamara's guide to evaluation, part of his Free Management Library and drawn from his book Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation. This guide covers the hows and whys of evaluation, an overview of evaluation and data collection methodologies and how to choose between them, analysis and interpretation advice, and other tips. Author: McNamara, Carter (ed.) Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 18, 2008
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Basics of Conducting Focus Groups This is a succinct guide to running a focus group. It includes tips for preparation, developing questions, session planning, facilitation, and followup activities. Author: McNamara, Carter (ed.) Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 18, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Blog: "Monitoring and Evaluation NEWS" Monitoring and Evaluation NEWS is a frequently-updated blog / news website managed by Rick Davies in the UK. The site focuses on M&E methods for aid / development programs, and includes news, opinion, jobs, and events.
Author: Davies, Rick Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 1, 1997 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
BoardSource Knowledge Center BoardSource is a nonprofit organization that offers consulting, publications, and membership services to increase the effectiveness of nonprofit boards. Though many of the resources on BoardSource's website are available only to members, don't let that scare you. The Knowledge Center section of the website contains several free-access resources, including articles, white papers, and an extensive FAQ file. Author: BoardSource Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 18, 2008
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Building a Culture of Evaluation: 30 Ideas to Apply to Your Organization This fun infographic by Community Solutions shows 30 ways to build a culture of evaluation into your organization. Examples include starting with simple evaluations to demonstrate benefits and worth, positioning evaluation as a way of giving staff a voice, and scheduling time up front in the program planning phase to discuss evaluation.
Author: Community Solutions Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Jan 1, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Download (148.96 KB)