Browse Action and Improvement Resources
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Participatory Asset Mapping Toolkit Healthy City supports communities in identifying, organizing, and sharing its collective voice with decision makers at the local and state levels. Through their Community Research Lab, Healthy City share best practices and methods for Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) interested in supporting their strategies with research that combines community knowledge with Healthy City technologies. Toward this aim, they have developed the Community Research Lab Toolbox. The toolbox presents research concepts, methods, and tools through topical guides and toolkits. Author: Healthy City Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Apr 8, 2012
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Performance Management and Evaluation: Two Sides of the Same Coin (Presentation slides) Performance management and evaluation-what's the difference? With an increasing emphasis on measurement and impact, service providers and their funders are pushing for increasingly sophisticated evaluation approaches such as experimental and quasi-experimental designs. However, experimental methods are rarely appropriate, feasible, or cost-effective for the majority of organizations and service providers. Author: Isaac Castillo, Ann K. Emery Type: Presentation Slides Date: Oct 16, 2013 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.42 MB) -
Philanthropic Freedom: A Pilot Study Hudson Institute’s Center for Global Prosperity (CGP) is pleased to announce the publication of Philanthropic Freedom: A Pilot Study, the first time that the ease of giving has been fully measured and compared across 13 countries. The pilot study and each of the detailed country reports can be downloaded for free from www.Hudson.org/PhilanthropicFreedom.
Author: Hudson Institute Center for Global Prosperity Type: Research & Reports Date: Mar 28, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.31 MB) -
Portfolio Evaluation vs. Grant Evaluation In this webinar Johanna Morariu and Ehren Reed discuss four levels of evaluation: grant-level, portfolio-level, foundation-level, and issue-level. The presentation addresses the pros and cons of these four levels of evaluation, and when one level may be more appropriate than another. Also included are considerations for right-sizing your evaluation approach—design, data collection, analysis, and reporting differences between grant and portfolio evaluations.Author: Johanna Morariu and Ehren Reed Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Feb 22, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Program Evaluation Guide A general introduction to Evaluation, this guide walks the reader through the process of answering the following seven basic questions
1. What do we want to evaluate?
2. What is the purpose of the evaluation?
3. What type of evaluation do we want to use?
4. What information do we need to answer our questions?
5. How do we get the information?
6. How will we analyze the information?
7. How will we use and share the results?Author: Katie Cangemi and Maggie Litgen Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Dec 31, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Download (195.46 KB) -
Program Evaluation: Assessing and Measuring Your Program’s Performance Innovation Network's slideshow (from a presentation to the 2007 Nonprofit Technology Conference in Washington, D.C.) about the importance of planning for effective program evaluation, using our online tools, and leveraging online communities for knowledge-sharing. (1.15 MB .pdf file; may take some time to download.) Author: Innovation Network, Inc. Type: Presentation Slides Date: Jan 18, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.15 MB) -
ProPack III - The CRS Project Package: A Guide to Creating a SMILER M&E System The approach to M&E described in this guide is called SMILER. It is a comprehensive and practical approach to developing a project monitoring system that incorporates processes for learning based on robust evidence. It has been written for CRS project managers, technical, and M&E staff to guide their work with partners and communities by describing how to develop an M&E system in which data are systematically collected, reported and used to make project decisions.
Author: Susan Hahn, Guy Sharrock Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jun 15, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.18 MB) -
Public Will Building: What it Means and How to Evaluate It [Handout] Strategic Partner Julia Coffman (of the Center for Evaluation Innovation) and Innovation Network Director Ehren Reed led a discussion on Public Will Building for The Connecticut Health Foundation's Leadership Fellows. Author: Julia Coffman and Ehren Reed Type: Research & Reports Date: Dec 14, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Rapid Evaluation The purpose of this guide is to introduce the basic concepts and methods used in rapid evaluations (REs), and to demonstrate how this approach can be applied to the various stages of program development and implementation.
It covers inportant terms/definition, when to use REs, advantages and disadvantages of REs, the five elements of an RE, and provides additional reading resources.
Author: The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 1, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Download (272.44 KB) -
Remarks made at the Environmental Evaluators’ Network Forum: NAVIGATING EVALUATIVE COMPLEXITY IN THE AGE OF OBAMA The author draws on her vast evaluation experience, especially in federal evaluation, to confront issues of complexity in evaluation. She offers the idea of using comprehensive checklists, and supplies her own example.
An exerpt:
Author: Eleanor Chelimsky Type: Opinion (blog, editorial) Date: Jun 8, 2010 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (81.2 KB) -
Seeing the Forest (Beyond the Trees): Learning Across the Experiences of Seven Advocacy Evaluators [Slides] Advocacy and policy change evaluation continues to evolve and mature--from a fledgling field a few years ago to the flourishing field of today. Evaluators are advancing as well, developing an increasingly robust collective understanding about what works for advocacy evaluation. In this session a diverse group of seven advocacy evaluators explored and synthesized observations drawn from an array of real-world experiences. Panelists spoke to targeted questions, weaving in their wealth of experience and examples. Author: Johanna Morariu, Jara Dean-Coffey, Tom Kelly, Claire Hutchings, David Devlin Foltz, Robin Kane, Jared Raynor, Anne Gienapp, Type: Presentation Slides Date: Oct 19, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Simplifying Complex Initiative Evaluation In this article, the author highlights two major lessons learned from theory-of-change and cluster evaluation about how to evaluate complex initiatives: articulation of a theory of change, and using the theory of change as a basis for evaluation planning. In addition, the author shares tips on how she applied the lessons to meet her evaluation challenges. Author: Coffman, Julia Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Jun 1, 1999 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Social Movements and Philanthropy: How Foundations Can Support Movement Building Building on research conducted for the California Endowment, this article describes five core movement-building elements and provides a framework for activities that foundations can support to foster movement building. Movement building presents unique challenges to foundations. Because movements, by definition, must be driven by the people who are most affected, foundations cannot determine the goals and timetables of a movement. Foundation investments in movements are just that – investments for the long term. Author: Barbara Masters, M.A., and Torie Osborn, M.B.A. Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Oct 2, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Download (326.55 KB) -
Social Research Update: Photo-Interviewing for Research Rosalind Hurthworth offers insight into multiple uses of photography in evaluation. Author: Hurworth, Rosalind Type: Research & Reports Date: Mar 1, 2003 Be the first to review this resource! Download (156.06 KB) -
Sourcebook for Evaluating Global and Regional Partnership Programs: Indicative Principles and Standards The purpose of the indicative principles and standards contained in this Sourcebook is to help improve the independence and quality of program-level evaluations of GRPPs in order to enhance the relevance and effectiveness of the programs. The principal audiences for the Soucebook are the governing bodies and management units of GRPPs, as well as professional evaluators involved in the evaluation of these programs. Author: Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 1, 2007 Be the first to review this resource! Download (833.37 KB) -
State of Evaluation - Russian translation The Project: Nonprofits hear a lot of talk about evaluation these days—metrics and measurements, indicators and impact, efficiency and effectiveness. Everyone, from donors to board members, seems to want evaluation results. But there was a big knowledge gap around evaluation practice: What are nonprofits really doing to evaluate their work? How are they really using evaluation results? What support are they getting? What else do they need?
Author: Innovation Network Type: Research & Reports Date: Feb 3, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Download (6.78 MB) -
State of Evaluation 2012: Evaluation Practice and Capacity in the Nonprofit Sector The State of Evaluation 2012 report marks the second time Innovation Network has surveyed the U.S. nonprofit field to learn about evaluation practices and capacities! To learn more about the project, visit www.stateofevaluation.org. Author: Johanna Morariu, Katherine Athanasiades, and Ann K. Emery of Innovation Network, Inc. Type: Research & Reports Date: Oct 1, 2012 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (2.63 MB) -
State of Evaluation in Colorado's Non-Profit Sector This report presents findings and recommendations from a research project to understand the state of evaluation in Colorado’s nonprofit sector. Adopting a national survey conducted by the Innovation Network, a Washington DCbased nonprofit evaluation, research and consulting firm, in addition to a set of in-depth interviews, the following study examined: 1. The role of evaluation in nonprofit organizations in Colorado; 2. The challenges to implementing evaluation practices; and 3. Recommendations to support or enhance evaluation practices Author: Phillip Chung and Melanie Tran Type: Research & Reports Date: Aug 31, 2015 Be the first to review this resource! Download (2.38 MB) -
State of Evaluation in the Social Sector Measurement, evaluation, and learning are hotter than ever in the social sector. Foundations and nonprofits are focused on answering the question What difference are we making? And the field of evaluation has advanced in promising ways, developing meaningful evaluation approaches to better fit the latest philanthropic and nonprofit strategies. Author: Johanna Morariu and Will Fenn Type: Templates & Samples Date: Mar 21, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
State of the Field: Updated, Longitudal Findings about Nonprofit and Philanthropic Evaluation Practices and Capacities [Slides] The State of Evaluation project provides valuable insight to all those who work in and with the nonprofit sector. The project is designed to collect longitudinal data to document evaluation trends in the U.S. nonprofit sector, including how nonprofits staff evaluation, how evaluation is funded, why evaluation is undertaken, how evaluation results are used, and much more. This year marks the beginning of longitudinal data and analysis, drawing from the first iteration of the project in 2010. Author: Johanna Morariu Type: Presentation Slides Date: Oct 27, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
StrategicEdSolutions.org The StrategicEdSolutions.org website shares education strategies, programs, and resources that work. The site features case studies and research from high-performing education programs, and provides a forum for searching and submitting programs and tools. The website is a project of the Business Higher Education Forum in Washington, D.C. Author: Business Higher Education Forum Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Sep 17, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Success and Failure in the Evaluation Process What do the terms "success" and "failure" really mean in the philanthropic world? Funders have taken different approaches to learning from initiatives that haven't gone quite as they had hoped. Some funders want to learn from their mistakes, some provide technical assistance to lagging grantees, and some want to focus their light on "bright spots" and grantee successes.
Author: Kat Athanasiades Type: Presentation Slides Date: Mar 1, 2015 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats The Community Tool Box is a service of the Work Group for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas. Their SWOT Guide is comprehensive, user friendly and a great resource for any evaluator within the public health or community development field.
Author: The Community Tool Box Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 1, 2014 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Terms, Tips, & Trends: Evaluation Essentials for Nonprofits (Mindmap) Are you ready to launch an evaluation, but not sure where to start? Wondering how much you should budget for it, or who should be involved? Although 90% of nonprofits are engaged in evaluation, it continues to be one of the most misunderstood and mysterious functions of nonprofit management. In this Evaluation 101-level webinar, Innovation Network's team introduced key evaluation concepts, approaches, and methods.
Author: Johanna Morariu and Ann Emery, Innovation Network Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Sep 30, 2013 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (316.27 KB) -
Terms, Tips, & Trends: Evaluation Essentials for Nonprofits (Slides) Are you ready to launch an evaluation, but not sure where to start? Wondering how much you should budget for it, or who should be involved? Although 90% of nonprofits are engaged in evaluation, it continues to be one of the most misunderstood and mysterious functions of nonprofit management. In this Evaluation 101-level webinar, Innovation Network's team introduced key evaluation concepts, approaches, and methods.
Author: Johanna Morariu and Ann Emery, Innovation Network Type: Presentation Slides Date: Oct 3, 2013 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Web Link