Browse Analysis and Reflection Resources
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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 -
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 -
Ask the expert: What is strategic learning and how do you develop an organizational culture that encourages it? In article from The Evaluation Exchange, John A. Healy, Director of Strategic Learning and Evaluation at The Atlantic Philanthropies, shares ways to position learning as an organizational priority. Author: Julia Coffman, HFRP; Erin Harris, HFRP Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Jun 1, 2005 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
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 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) -
Banning Junk Food and Soda Sales in the State's Public Schools This report describes advocates' struggle in California to ban junk food and soda sales in public schools. The authors highlight successes, failures, and turning points of the effort, culminating in the 2005 Governor’s Summit on Health, Nutrition and Obesity. Author: Isaacs, Stephen and Swartz, Ava Type: Research & Reports Date: Oct 1, 2006 Be the first to review this resource! Download (325.71 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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Best Practices for Asking Questions about Sexual Orientation on Surveys In 2003 the Ford Foundation began funding a multi-year project that sought to increase the quantity and quality of data on gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, and, by extension, on heterosexual people. Over a five-year period, many researchers participated in the expert panel funded by the grant, thus contributing to the knowledge embodied in this report.
Author: Sexual Minority Assessment Research Team (SMART) Type: Research & Reports Date: Nov 1, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Download (923.87 KB) -
Big Issues, Many Questions What it takes for a foundation to be effective is difficult to master, yet timeless. At the same time, however, there are current trends that foundation leaders and boards must pay attention to if they want to be as effective as possible.In this essay, Big Issues, Many Questions, CEP President Phil Buchanan explores the five most pressing issues facing U.S. foundations in 2016.Author: The Center for Effective Philanthropy Type: Research & Reports Date: Apr 1, 2016 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 -
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) -
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) -
Can we obtain the required rigour without randomisation? Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in the international development sector need credible, reliable feedback on whether their interventions are making a meaningful difference but they struggle with how they can practically access it. Impact evaluation is research and, like all credible research, it takes time, resources, and expertise to do well, and – despite being under increasing pressure – most NGOs are not set up to rigorously evaluate the bulk of their work.
Author: Karl Hughes and Claire Hutchings Type: Research & Reports Date: Aug 1, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Download (347.42 KB) -
Candidate Outcome Indicators: Advocacy Program This publication, based on joint research by the Urban Institute and The Center for What Works, provides a framework for tracking nonprofit performance. It suggests candidate outcomes and outcome indicators to assist nonprofit organizations that seek to develop new outcome monitoring processes or improve their existing systems. Author: Urban Institute and The Center for What Works Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Jan 1, 2007
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Capacity and Organizational Readiness for Evaluation (CORE) Tool Capacity and Organizational Readiness for Evaluation (CORE) Tool is a succinct, fifteen-question organizational assessment tool. The CORE Tool assesses organizational readiness for evaluation and learning on three dimensions: Culture/Learning Environment; Organizational Leadership; and Resources, Systems, Structures, and Process. Author: Johanna Morariu, Ehren Reed, and Kathy Brennan Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Mar 8, 2011 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (115.62 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) -
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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Coalition Assessment: Approaches for Measuring Capacity and Impact Why assess coalition capacity? How should a coalition be assessed? How can coalition assessment data be analyzed and used?
Author: Veena Pankaj, Kat Athanasiades, and Ann Emery Type: Research & Reports Date: Feb 4, 2014 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (768.05 KB) -
Community-Based Project Evaluation Guide This 76-page .pdf evaluation guide was originally created in 1997. It was updated in 2000. The guide is intended to help practitioners evaluate community-based programs with a focus on children, youth, and families. The guide explores the links between theory and research, goals and objectives, measures, variables, and program implementation. It includes examples of outcomes for children and youth issue areas, samples, and worksheets. Author: Callor, Suzanne et al. Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Dec 14, 2000 Be the first to review this resource! Download (235.68 KB) -
Conquering the Dusty Shelf Report: Data Visualization for Evaluation In this blog post for Visualising Data, Johanna Morariu and Ann Emery share three tactics for tackling the Dusty Shelf Report in evaluation: captivating the readers with visuals, choosing the design that's right for the reader, and strengthening the dataviz literacy of readers. Author: Johanna Morariu and Ann Emery Type: Opinion (blog, editorial) Date: May 7, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Creative Ways to Solicit Youth Input: A Hands-On Guide for Youth Practitioners To understand how our programs are doing, improve the quality of those programs and report to funders and other stakeholders, we collect information from a variety of sources: staff, parents, and the youth themselves. This manual provides ideas for other, creative ways to get input from youth.
Part One outlines a process you can use to plan your evaluation questions. Next, we present some key ideas to consider when implementing your evaluation, analyzing the results and reporting them.
Author: Public Profit Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: May 1, 2012
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Dabbling in the Data: A Hands-On Guide to Participatory Data Analysis Many quality improvement trainings either ignore data interpretations or offer limited guidance about how to dig into the data. This means that whoever speaks up first sets the agenda for the group—hardly a rigorous or fruitful process. Educators and children and youth professionals are increasingly interested in utilizing data to support continuous quality improvement, but few resources are available to help practitioners know what to do.Author: Public Profit Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2014 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.3 MB)