Browse organizational development Resources
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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) -
Free Resources for Program Evaluation and Social Research Methods This page lists FREE resources for program evaluation and social research methods. The focus is on "how-to" do evaluation research and the methods used: surveys, focus groups, sampling, interviews, and other methods. Most of these links are to resources that can be read over the web. A few, like the GAO books, are for books that can be sent away for, for free (if you live in the US), as well as read over the web. Author: Gene Shackman Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Nov 22, 2007 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
From Expert to Advocate! Tools for Evidence-Based Advocacy In Your Community You are a powerful force in your community. As a service provider and/or community leader you see clearly where more progress can be made. How can you build the evidence base to change policies and increase resources to save more lives?
To get started, here are a few tools to assess gaps in service delivery and resource allocation, while increasing community and citizen ownership. These tools are just a sample of how to build your evidence base for effective advocacy. The process of developing your evidence base with your community can be as important as the end product.Author: ACTION: Advocacy to Control Tuberculosis Internationally Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Jan 1, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Download (684.46 KB) -
Funder Collaboratives: Why and How Funders Work Together When it comes to funder collaboratives, is the whole truly greater than the sum of its parts? Can foundations make a bigger impact with grant dollars by working together than by going it alone? Yes, grantmakers say, as long as members define their goals, set clear operational guidelines, and work from the start to make the collaborative function well for grantees. In this guide, contributors share strategies for structuring a collaborative to fit its purpose, building strong relationships and resolving conflicts, and figuring out if the collaborative you're in is working. Author: Grantcraft Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Download (306.83 KB) -
General Guidelines for Conducting Interviews Carter McNamara's guidelines for conducting interviews, part of his Free Management Library and drawn from his book Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development. Author: McNamara, Carter Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: May 1, 2006 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Getting Real About Real-Time Evaluation Evaluators Clare Nolan and Fontane Lo give a short introduction to Real-Time Evaluation (RTE) from a theoretical and practical standpoint. Additional issues covered in this article include:
- How is RTE different from traditional evaluation?
- Is a real-time evaluation right for me?
- What if my funder wants a traditional evaluation?
Author: Clare Nolan and Fontane Lo Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Mar 29, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Getting the Most from Evaluation In the June 6, 2007 issue the e-newsletter "Nonprofit Tools You Can Use" from the Fieldstone Alliance, Vince Hyman introduces an excerpt from the book Information Gold Mine: Innovative Uses of Evaluation by Paul Mattessich, et al. This excerpt discusses how a Colorado nonprofit, YouthZone, used its evaluation findings in a variety of ways. These uses included identifying infrastructure deficiencies, marketing, and informing changes to program design, among others. Author: Vince Hyman (Field Stone Alliance); Paul Mattessich, et al. Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Jun 6, 2007 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Grantcraft: Evaluation Technique Series To help grantmakers understand some newer evaluative approaches and weigh their advantages, GrantCraft has developing a collection of briefing notes. Each note explains the basics of one technique and answers some common questions about its use. A mini-case, based on one grantmaker’s experiences, is featured in each guide. Additional literature about the topic is also provided.
Participatory Action Research - Involving "All The Players" in Evaluation and Change
Author: Grantcraft Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 1, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
GrantStation.com Online since 1999, GrantStation.com provides information and mentorship about the grantseeking process. Though most of their online resources are available only to paid subscribers, the "Tracks to Success" series offers free articles on a variety of fundraising and nonprofit management topics, including capital campaigns, endownment building, youth engagement, creating a development plan, and more. THey have also recently expanded, with an international edition of their newsletter, the GrantStation Insider. Author: GrantStation.com, Inc. Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 1, 1999 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Guidance Note #3: Introduction to Mixed Methods in Impact Evaluation Mixed methods (MM) evaluations seek to integrate social science disciplines with predominantly quantitative (QUANT) and predominantly qualitative (QUAL) approaches to theory, data collection, data analysis and interpretation. The purpose is to strengthen the reliability of data, validity of the findings and recommendations, and to broaden and deepen our understanding of the processes through which program outcomes and impacts are achieved, and how these are affected by the context within which the program is implemented.
Author: Michael Bamberger Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Sep 5, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Guide to Monitoring and Evaluating policy influence Author: Harry Jones Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Feb 23, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Download (171.99 KB) -
How Can We Help Out Grantees Strengthen Their Capacity for Evaluation? There is a widespread and growing recognition in the nonprofit sector about the importance of evaluation--not only for measuring impact, but also for improving programs and better serving communities. While grantmakers generally see evaluation as necessary, most are not yet investing enough resources in this area. In 2014, nearly three quarters of nonprofits reported that their funders "rarely or never" fund impact measurement costs.
Author: Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) Type: Research & Reports Date: Aug 1, 2015 Be the first to review this resource! Download (728.72 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) -
ILAC Brief 16: "Contribution analysis: An approach to exploring cause and effect" In this brief from Biodiversity International's Institutional Learning and Change Initiative (ILAC), John Mayne discusses the steps involved in contribution analysis (including the development of a theory of change), an evaluation approach that may be useful when others are not practical. More specifically, Mayne provides an example of an evaluation capacity building project for agricultural research organizations. Author: Mayne, John Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: May 1, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Download (129.56 KB) -
Immunization Advocacy Goals Civil society has now rallied around a new Immunization Advocacy Goals framework, presenting a menu of advocacy options to improve access to vaccines around the world.
The framework’s five goals unite civil society – from implementers in Afghanistan, to research and development advocates in Australia – under shared goals that provide an intellectual underpinning for local, regional, and global advocacy on immunizations.Author: GAVI Alliance Civil Society Constituency Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Dec 1, 2012
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Impact Evaluation in Practice This book provides an overview of impact evaluation from the perspective of the Wold Bank.
Author: Paul J. Gertler, Sebastian Martinez, Patrick Premand, Laura B. Rawlings, Christel M. J. Vermeersch Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 1, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Download (3.06 MB) -
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 -
Internal vs. External Evaluation Few resources exist that thoroughly and accurately describe when to choose an internal and/or an external evaluator to conduct an evaluation. This one-page resource provides a helpful, concise comparison between internal and external evaluators
Author: UNICEF Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: May 3, 2005 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
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 -
Leap of Reason Leap of Reason is the product of decades of management insights from philanthropist Mario Morino, McKinsey & Company, and more than a dozen experts and practitioners. With more than 40,000 copies in circulation, the book is helping nonprofit and public-sector leaders achieve more for those they serve, even in the midst of this era of scarcity.
Author: Mario Morino Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2011
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LearnPhilanthropy LearnPhilanthropy's Knowledge Library is a resource for people who are new to grantmaking or those seeking new ideas and tools to improve their grantmaking practice. Here you will find essential learning and new research on a range of common issues and key challenges in philanthropy. Working with leading organizations across the field, LearnPhilanthropy regularly updates this centralized library with reports, tools, and other resources. Author: LearnPhilanthropy Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Sep 23, 2014 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
LITERATURE REVIEW ON EFFECTIVENESS OF THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA This report examines the broader utility of social media for the adoption of health promoting and protective behaviours.
Author: Rebecca Schein, Kumanan Wilson, Jennifer Keelan Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1023.3 KB) -
Managing Evaluation: Responding to Common Problems With a 10-Step Process There is now a clear choice of frameworks for managing program evaluation—the managing of one or more studies or the managing of an evaluation capacity building structure and process.
Author: Donald Compton, Michael Baizerman, & Ross VeLure Roholt Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Download (743.47 KB) -
Measuring and Improving Costs, Cost-Effectiveness, and Cost-Benefit for Substance Abuse Treatment Programs The manual consists of 12 chapters, starting with definitions of various cost analyses and explaining their importance. A suggested
timetable breaks the measurement process into specific tasks, identifies who needs to be involved, and presents concrete assignments for each person on the data collection and analysis team.Author: Brian T. Yates, Ph.D. Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Aug 1, 1999 Be the first to review this resource! Download (516.44 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)