State of Evaluation 2010: Evaluation Practice and Capacity in the Nonprofit Sector

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 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?

This report presents the findings of Innovation Network's 2010 survey of over 1,000 nonprofits about their evaluation capacity, practice, and support. It is the first iteration of Innovation Network's State of Evaluation project, which is the first nationwide project that seeks to systematically and repeatedly collect data from U.S. nonprofits about their evaluation practices.

The report consists of data visualizations showing the results of the survey in four sections:

• Who: Rules and Engagement in Evaluation;
• What: Evaluation Practice;
• Why: Evaluation Purpose; and
• Why Not: Barriers to Evaluation.

Methodology details, a profile of survey respondents, and a discussion of the findings round out the report. Innovation Network hopes that this report--and the ongoing project--will build understanding:

• For nonprofits, to see how their evaluation practices compare to their peers.
• For donors and funders, to better understand how they can support evaluation practice throughout the sector.
• For evaluators, to have more context for the existing evaluation practices and capacities of their nonprofit clients.

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