Browse tools Resources
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NPower Network NPower's website offers resources on many different aspects of technology planning. The site features:
- Guides (on topics including business continuity and disaster recovery, technology literacy benchmarks, and program-area specific technology guides for nonprofit leaders);
- Links; and
- Tools, including TechAtlas (a technology planning tool), a Total Cost of Ownership Calculator, and a Return on Investment Calculator.
Author: NPower Network Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 18, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Online Outreach Tools Guide This quick-reference guide from Cause Communications is for those considering how to use the Internet and online tools to further their policy change agenda. Demystifying "high-tech" terms, the guide takes a high-level look at Web 2.0 tools like wikis, blogs, social networking sites, and Twitter, and their relative strengths and weaknesses for achieving different communications and policy objectives. The guide also suggests quantitative and qualitative metrics to use with each tool. Author: Cause Communications Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Oct 27, 2009 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (223.04 KB) -
OpenCourseWare at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health This free site provides content from some of the most popular courses at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Search for "evaluation" and you'll find course topics such as "Fundamentals of Program Evaluation." Note: This site provides materials, not for-credit courses or interaction with JHSPH faculty. Author: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Dec 1, 2009 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Organizational Capacity Checklist This is a brief list of questions to help guide thinking about organizational development. It is intended for use with the Advocacy Institute's other tools such as the "Identify an Issue's Life Cycle Stage" checklist, q.v. Author: Advocacy Institute Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Jan 1, 2004
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Orientation to Theory of Change Organizational Research Services produced this document to introduce its clients to Theory of Change and the "Layer Cake" model. Author: Organizational Research Services Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Jan 1, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Download (110.1 KB) -
Out-of-School Time Program Research and Evaluation Database This is a rich source for promising practices and evaluation reports on a huge variety of out-of-school programs. Author: Harvard Family Research Project Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Aug 1, 2007 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Outcomes-Based Planning and Evaluation Course This resource is an online course about Outcomes Based Planning and Evaluation ("OBPE"). It is designed for museum professionals and librarians. Modules include:
- Introduction: An introduction to OBPE, including program examples, OBPE benefits, and a list of resources
- Plan: Planning an OBPE approach to your program, including assessing audience needs, defining your solution and your own definitions of success, considering other stakeholders, and articulating your program's purpose
Author: Elizabeth Kryder-Reid, Helen J. Schwartz, Annette Lamb, et al. Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 1, 2006 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
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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Partnerships for Environmental Public Health Evaluation Metrics Manual The Partnership for Environmental Public Health Evaluation Metrics Manual provides examples of tangible metrics and program tools that PEPH grantees and others can use for planning and evaluation purposes. Sample metrics include measures for activities, outcomes and impacts related to partnership building, leveraging, product development and dissemination, education and training, and capacity building.
Author: Division of Extramural Research, National Institute of Environmental Health Science Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Oct 25, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Performance, Learning, Leadership and Knowledge Everything you wanted to know about Instructional Systems Design in one place.
Author: Professor Don Clark Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Sep 2, 2009 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Picturing Your Data is Better Than 1000 Numbers: Data Visualization Techniques for Social Change Are you intrigued by infographics and how they could improve your communication strategy? Are you interested in what it takes for an organization to systematically use data? Or are you maybe even drowning in data and looking for someone to throw you a life-saving suggestion for software and other tools? Johanna Morariu, Beth Kanter, and Brian Kennedy presented a panel on data and information visualization at the 2012 Nonprofit Tech Conference. This video is a recording of the panel.
Author: Johanna Morariu Type: Presentation Slides Date: Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
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 Development and Evaluation This site provides a comprehensive set of resources on planning and implementing an evaluation. Some of their tools require a free login. Author: University of Wisconsin - Extension Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 18, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
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) -
Prove & Improve – A Self-Evaluation Resource for Voluntary and Community Organisations This document is intended to provide a starting point for exploring evaluation - and in particular, self evaluation of outcomes - and for thinking about some of the issues involved in this essential area of developing and running a successful project. Author: Community Evaluation Northern Ireland Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Oct 1, 2008
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Report from "Planning, Assessing and Learning from Advocacy Workshop" This report summarizes a 4-day workshop help in Accra, Ghana, in April 2006. The workshop was a collaboration between INTRAC and ActionAid. INTRAC was seeking to understand M&E as practiced on the ground as part of its preparation for an international conference, and ActionAid was motivated by a desire to present findings from three years of the Action Research Project and give participants a forum to express themselves. Author: INTRAC Type: Research & Reports Date: Apr 30, 2006 Be the first to review this resource! Download (47.11 KB) -
Sample Outcomes Chain Outcomes can't all be attained at the same time, and some outcomes rely on the earlier achievement of others. Advocacy evaluation presents unique conceptual challenges to developing an outcomes chain. This outcomes chain contains short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes for both policy and infrastructure, as related to a fictional advocacy campaign. Author: Innovation Network, Inc. Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Nov 23, 2005
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Sample Questions for Gauging Progress in Advocacy Innovation Network developed this resource about advocacy evaluation: Although successful advocacy efforts may take decades, there are methods for measuring progress over shorter periods of time. This two-page handout provides some key ideas and sample questions to consider.
Author: Innovation Network, Inc. Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Jun 10, 2008
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Sample Size Calculator A handy online calculator for determining the appropriate sample size for a given population. This page also includes a discussion of sample size and other factors that affect the confidence interval of your data collection process. Author: Creative Research Systems Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 18, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Sample Size Calculator This online sample size calculator can help you rapidly estimate how large your sample needs to be to compensate for different margins of error and confidence levels. Free and easy to use, the page also includes good introductory information on how to apply the resource. Author: Raosoft Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 1, 2004 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Smart Chart 3.0 Spitfire Strategies produced Smart Chart (now in version 3.0) as "a tool to help nonprofits make smart communications choices." This free online tool is built around a chart with five "strategic decision sections":
Author: Spitfire Strategies Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Feb 1, 2004
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Statistics Every Writer Should Know Simple explanations of basic statistics written for reporters and writers, but useful for everyone who needs to work with statistics and evaluation reporting. Author: Niles, Robert Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 18, 2008 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 -
Strengthening Family Planning Policies and Programs in Developing Countries: An Advocacy Toolkit This toolkit "assist[s] advocates in the family planning/reproductive health field in their efforts to promote policy dialogue on the health, social, and economic benefits of increasing access to family planning services. By tailoring the messages included in the toolkit, advocates can present culturally relevant arguments to promote family planning and birth spacing in their particular settings." It contains several sample tools for advocacy planning. Author: The POLICY Project Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Dec 2, 2005 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.16 MB) -
Strengthening Line of Sight Line of sight is about strengthening how we think about our ultimate goals and then maintaining an unobstructed vision from our current decisions and actions to those goals. It is about always asking: “What are we trying to accomplish and what would success look like?” Line of Sight is a process, not a product.Author: Fourth Quadrant Partners, LLC Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Sep 16, 2020 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1015.3 KB)