Browse strategic planning Resources
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Community Resource Institute Tutorials A collection of the following community empowerment tutorials:1. Using Data to Support Grant Applications and Other Funding Opportunities
2. Monitoring Trends and Identifying Emerging Problems
3. Using Data to Disseminate Information to Engage Community and Policymakers
4. Using Data to Evaluate Progress in Meeting Goals
5. Using Data to Establish Priorities and Plan ProgramsAuthor: Community Resource Institute Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 1, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Continuous Progress: Better Advocacy Through Evaluation Continuous Progress is an online collection of planning and evaluation tools and services for advocates and funders. Continuous Progress "Strategic Services" is a consulting practice that provides planning, evaluation, and communications expertise. Their featured project, the "Advocacy Progress Planner," is an online tool based on the Advocacy & Policy Change Composite Logic Model (q.v.) The website also offers guides for domestic (U.S.) and global advocacy efforts. Author: Global Interdependence Initiative Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 1, 2006
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Create a "Culture of Evaluation" In the June 20, 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 "culture of evaluation" is an important factor in increasing the likelihood an organization will be willing to change based on the results of an evaluation. The authors also offer some insights and advice on how organizations can promote this type of culture. Author: Vince Hyman (Field Stone Alliance); Paul Mattessich, et al. Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Jun 20, 2007 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Designing a Results Framework for Achieving Results: A How-To Guide A results framework serves as a key tool in the development landscape, enabling practitioners to discuss and establish strategic development objectives and then link interventions to intermediate outcomes and results that directly relate to those objectives. This publication provides how-to guidance for developing results frameworks by discussing the following: Author: Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Sep 1, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Download (834.16 KB) -
Evaluating Foundation-Supported Capacity Building: Lessons Learned This study of lessons learned from evaluations of philanthropic capacitybuilding programs used a national database of 473 programs, and a survey and interviews with 87 funders (82 foundations or foundation collaboratives, and five foundation-supported intermediaries) to answer two questions:
(1) How do foundations that support nonprofit capacity building evaluate their grantmaking and direct service activities?
(2) What lessons can be learned from valuation, both to improve these programs and justify the investments made in them?
Author: Thomas E. Backer, Jane Ellen Bleeg & Kathryn Groves Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 1, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Download (152.27 KB) -
Evaluating System Change: A Planning Guide This methods brief provides guidance on planning effective evaluations of system change interventions. It begins with a general overview of systems theory and then outlines a three-part process for designing system change evaluations. This three-part process aligns (1) the dynamics of the targeted system or situation, (2) the dynamics of the system change intervention, and (3) the intended purpose(s) and methods of the evaluation.
Author: Margaret B. Hargreaves Type: Research & Reports Date: Apr 1, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.63 MB) -
Evaluation Capacity Building: Examples and Lessons from the Field Innovation Network developed these three introductory evaluation documents as part of Building Nonprofit Capacity to Evaluate, Learn, and Grow Impact, a workshop we presented in partnership with Grantmakers for Effective Organizations' Scaling What Works initiative. Author: Johanna Morariu, Innovation Network, Inc. Type: Research & Reports Date: Apr 1, 2012 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
EVALUATION CAPACITY BUILDING: Funder Initiatives to Strengthen Grantee Evaluation Capacity and Practice Evaluation Capacity Building (ECB) is the process of improving an organization’s ability to use evaluation to learn from its work and improve results. Organizational learning is incredibly important. Organizations that are adept at learning from mistakes and adapting to new challenges are more likely to be successful, and in the nonprofit sector, more likely to make significant progress toward mission-related outcomes. In general, ECB can be used to:
Author: Myia Welsh and Johanna Morariu Type: Research & Reports Date: Jun 15, 2011 Be the first to review this resource! Download (248.37 KB) -
Evaluation Concepts Mindmap The Evaluation Concepts Mindmap is a visual showing different considerations in evaluation, such as assessment types, evaluation cycle, and data collection, and the components of those considerations. This is a useful tool for evaluation planning, as well as for gaining a broad perspective of what is important in the field of evaluation—all on one page. Author: Johanna Morariu, Innovation Network Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Mar 28, 2013 Point K Pick
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Evaluation of PEPFAR Through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the United States has provided an unprecedented level of health and development assistance and health diplomacy around the world.
Author: Institute of Medicine of the National Academies Type: Research & Reports Date: Feb 1, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Download (761.22 KB) -
Evaluation Principles and Practices: An Internal Working Paper The purpose of this document is to advance the Foundation’s existing work so that our evaluation practices become more consistent across the organization. We hope to create more common understanding of our philosophy, purpose, and expectations regarding evaluation as well as clarify staff roles and available support. With more consistency and shared understanding, we expect less wheel re-creation across program areas, greater learning from each other’s efforts, and faster progress in designing meaningful evaluations and applying the results.
Author: Fay Twersky & Karen Lindblom Type: Research & Reports Date: Jan 22, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.42 MB) -
Evaluation Resource Guide This listing and description of resources has been developed to help Department staff evaluate and monitor the performance of Department programs. It also is intended to be useful for county staff and other service providers. Resources in the Guide range from evaluation manuals providing basic information to books with detailed information on specific topics such as logic models, data analysis or sampling. Also included are resources on identifying effective programs/best practices, evaluation standards, and contracting for evaluation.
Author: Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: May 1, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Download (223.14 KB) -
Evaluation to Support Strategic Learning: Principles and Practices Evaluation that supports strategic learning is an area that the Center for Evaluation Innovation is helping to develop and grow. Working with organizations and groups to integrate evaluative thinking into their strategic decision making and bring timely data to the table for reflection and use has tremendous potential as an approach to evaluation, particularly for complex and dynamic social change strategies.
Author: Julia Coffman & Tanya Beer Type: Research & Reports Date: Jun 1, 2011 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (106.64 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) -
Funder Discussion Guide: Advocacy, Politics & Philanthropy In funding advocacy, foundations sometimes confront questions such as What’s a promising strategic focus?, How to integrate grassroots and grasstops advocacy?, or How to empower advocates in planning and funding decisions? Over the course of a 10-year effort to comprehensively reform the U.S. immigration system, Atlantic faced similar choices.Author: Johanna Morariu, Kat Athanasiades, Veena Pankaj Type: Research & Reports Date: Mar 31, 2016 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (684.33 KB) -
Funder Discussion Guide: Advocacy, Politics & Philanthropy In funding advocacy, foundations sometimes confront questions such as What’s a promising strategic focus?, How to integrate grassroots and grasstops advocacy?, orAuthor: Innovation Network and Atlantic Philanthropies
Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Mar 1, 2016 Be the first to review this resource! Download (684.33 KB) -
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 -
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 -
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) -
Guide to Strategic Planning The strategic planning section of Carter McNamara's Free Management Library covers the following topics:
- Recommended Approach
- Benefits;
- When Should Strategic Planning Be Done?
- Overviews
- Preparation for Strategic Planning
- Strategic Analysis
- Setting Strategic Direction
- Action Planning
- Writing and Communicating the Plan; and
- Monitoring, Evaluating and Deviating from the Plan.
Author: McNamara, Carter (ed.) Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 18, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Guiding Principles for Advocacy Grantmaking As more funders turn to advocacy and policy change strategies, they want to know what works. Instead of starting from scratch, people want to know what approaches and principles show promise. In the past year alone, four helpful resources were written to advise funders on issues related to advocacy and evaluation. These four complementary resources have been synthesized and streamlined to provide a holistic reference for what makes an effective advocacy funder. Author: Johanna Morariu, M.A. Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Sep 14, 2010 Point K Pick
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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)