Browse Capacity Building Resources
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TechFinder TechFinder is an online directory of suppliers of ICT goods and services to the non-profit, voluntary and community sectors. The directory lists suppliers and where they are located. Author: CompuMentor Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 18, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
Telling Your Story: A Guide to Preparing Advocacy Case Studies This guidebook was created to encourage activists to record their stories. The authors believe that it is beneficial for advocates to communicate experiences that will stimulate and teach others working toward social change. The guidebook clarifies the "hows and whys" of writing an advocacy case study. The body of the guidebook is made up of four sections: the reasons for writing a case study, methods for selecting a focus,writing hints, and what to do with the finished product. Author: Advocacy Institute Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Aug 28, 2001 Be the first to review this resource! Download (268.47 KB) -
Ten Strategies for Enhancing Multicultural Competency in Evaluation Teresa Boyd Cowles of the Connecticut Department of Education offers 10 strategies evaluators can use to improve their cultural competence for evaluation. Author: Teresa Boyd Cowles Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Jun 30, 2005 Point K Pick 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) -
The 6 D's of Needs Assessments This handy one-page tipsheet outlines the six D's that need to be answered for a successful Needs Assessment:
- Deficit
- Develop
- Describe
- Desires
- Duplication
- Demand
Author: Community Soplutions Type: Tipsheets & Paper Tools Date: Jan 1, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.47 MB) -
The Advocacy Strategy Framework This brief offers a simple one-page tool for thinking about the theories of change that underlie public policy advocacy strategies.
It first presents the tool and then offers six questions that advocates, and funders working with advocates, can work through to better articulate their theories of change. The tool—labeled the advocacy strategy framework—has several advantages over more familiar linear box-and-arrow theory-of-change tools:
Author: Julia Coffman and Tanya Beer Type: Research & Reports Date: Mar 1, 2015 Be the first to review this resource! Download (365.89 KB) -
The Advocate's Evaluation Toolkit Evaluation is a powerful tool for learning, improving strategy, and making the case to funders for why advocacy work is critical to the issues they care about. Advocacy evaluation is a specific variant on evaluation, with a set of tools, processes, and approaches that are as adaptable as advocacy itself and help to define why advocacy matters.
Author: Spark Policy Institute Type: Research & Reports Date: Dec 31, 2014 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
The Challenge of Assessing Policy and Advocacy Activities The paper is designed to outline an approach to policy change evaluation grounded in the experience of experts and foundation colleagues. (See Appendix A for the research methodology.) This paper first posits three key priorities in evaluating policy change work, drawn from interviews with grantees and staff from The California Endowment on their needs concerning policy change evaluation. It also discusses the challenges inherent in monitoring and assessing these types of grants.
Author: Commissioned by The California Endowment. Researched and Written by Blueprint Research and Design, Inc. Type: Research & Reports Date: Oct 1, 2005 Be the first to review this resource! Download (2.84 MB) -
The Challenge of Assessing Policy and Advocacy Activities Part II After "The Challenge of Assessing Policy and Advocacy Activities" was published, the California Endowment Fund vetted the report findings and determined how to implement its recommendaions by convening a small group of foundation staff, grantees, and evaluators to engage in a series of discussions on the main themes of the report.
Author: Researched and written by Blueprint Research & Design, Inc. Type: Research & Reports Date: Oct 1, 2006 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.51 MB) -
The Challenge of Assessing Policy and Advocacy Activities: Part II - Moving from Theory to Practice This report synthesizes the results of a series of discussions that were a response to Blueprint's October 2005 report, "The Challenge of Assessing Policy and Advocacy Activities: Strategies for a Prospective Evaluation Approach" (q.v.) The discussions centered on three key themes of the 2005 publication:
- developing a theory of change,
- defining benchmarks and indicators and collecting data, and
- using findings.
This report is organized into two broad sections:
Author: Blueprint Research & Design Type: Research & Reports Date: Oct 1, 2006
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The Challenge of Assessing Policy and Advocacy Activities: Strategies for a Prospective Evaluation Approach This publication begins with an overview of the advocacy evaluation field, noting challenges to evaluating advocacy, the current state of advocacy evaluation, and guiding principles for policy change evaluation. The report goes on to outline a "prospective evaluation approach" which (in contrast to a retrospective approach) allows evaluation to become a management and planning tool. The prospective advocacy evaluation approach involves four steps:
Author: Blueprint Research & Design Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Oct 1, 2006
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The Challenge of Evaluating Complex Interventions: A Framework for Evaluating Media Advocacy This article in Health Education Research presents a framework for evaluating media advocacy. The framework is intended as a planning resource for media advocates, and as an aid to fundraising. The authors suggest a number of possible indicators for media, public opinion, policy, community, and advocacy. Author: Stead, Martine; Hastings, Gerard; and Douglas Eadie Type: Newsletters & Periodicals Date: Jun 1, 2002 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
The Collective Leadership Framework. A Workbook for Cultivating and Sustaining Community Change This workbook is intended to help organizations use community-based collective leadership as a tool for making community change. Along the way, you will also increase individual participants’ leadership ability and increase their life choices and opportunities Author: W.K. Kellogg Foundation Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Mar 1, 2016 Be the first to review this resource! Download (1.65 MB) -
The Colorado Trust's Advocacy Funding Strategy: Lessons Learned for Funders of Advocacy Efforts In an effort to help advance the field of advocacy and public policy funding, The Colorado Trust published this evaluation report as a joint effort between funder and evaluator, describing where they saw success, where they saw failure, and lessons learned along the way.
Author: Nancy Csuti & Ehren Reed Type: Research & Reports Date: May 1, 2012 Be the first to review this resource! Download (576.26 KB) -
The Communication Initiative Network An extensive website of resources related to communication for development, with a strongly international reach. Available topics include baseline data, programme experience, evaluation and planning methodologies, theories of change, and more. The site also offers active discussion forums and an e-newsletter, The Drum Beat.
Author: The Communication Initiative Network Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Jan 18, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
The Community Builder’s Approach to Theory of Change: A Practical Guide to Theory Development The Community Builder’s Approach to Theory of Change is a practical guide about theory of change development, and includes a toolbox of examples. Author: Andrea A. Anderson, Ph.D. Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 1, 2000 Be the first to review this resource! Download (532.38 KB) -
The Community Toolbox The Community Tool Box is a global resource for free information on essential skills for building healthy communities. It offers practical guidance in creating change and improvement in a wide range of areas.
Part A. Models for Promoting Community Health and Development: Gateways to the Tools
Part B. Community Assessment, Agenda Setting, and Choice of Broad Strategies
Part C. Promoting Interest and Participation in Initiatives
Part D. Developing a Strategic Plan, Organizational Structure, and Training System
Author: Work Group for Community Health and Development Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 1, 2011
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The Dataviz Hall of Fame for Evaluation In this blog post for the American Evaluation Association, Ann Emery shares Hall of Fame-worthy examples of data visualization in the evaluation field. She describes how evaluators are creating innovative, practical, and interactive visualizations; are thinking beyond standard reporting formats; and have capitalized on visual thinking skills. Author: Ann Emery Type: Opinion (blog, editorial) Date: Jun 24, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
The Evaluation Checklist Project Th site provides Author: The Evaluation Center of Western Michigan University Type: Templates & Samples Date: Jun 30, 2010 Point K Pick
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The Four Phases to Designing & Writing a Comprehensive Grant This conceptual model gives the four phases to consider when trying to develop a comprehensive grant proposal because you can't just "sit down and start writing" a grant. Researching Funding, Designing your Project, Technical Grant Writing, and Evaluation are the four key areas to consider in this model. The model is a basis for more in-depth work that is further explained in four separate PowerPoint presentations (with handouts). For more information contact info@bpcwi.com.
Author: Nicole Bowman Type: Templates & Samples Date: Feb 12, 2014 Be the first to review this resource! Download (121.35 KB) -
The Grantmaker’s Role in Theory of Change 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! Download (419.72 KB) -
The Guide to Community Presentive Services The Guide to Community Preventive Services is a free resource to help you choose programs and policies to improve health and prevent disease in your community. Systematic reviews are used to answer these questions:
- Which program and policy interventions have been proven effective?
- Are there effective interventions that are right for my community?
- What might effective interventions cost; what is the likely return on investment?
Author: Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (OSELS) Type: Websites & Online Tools Date: Mar 22, 2010 Be the first to review this resource! Web Link -
The How and Why of Advocacy This publication offers many pieces of advice generally related to advocacy, as well as specifically in regard to how an organization can monitor and evaluate its advocacy work. The Monitoring and Evaluation section walks through key questions:
- Why monitor and evaluate your work?
- What kind of monitoring indicators are there?
- What to evaluate?
- Who defines success?
Author: BOND Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Jan 18, 2008 Be the first to review this resource! Download (203.13 KB) -
The Impact of Research Evidence as an Advocacy Tool in Housing Trust Fund Campaigns: Lessons Learned from Three Case Studies This research initiative was undertaken by the Housing Trust Fund Project of the Center for Community Change, with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, to demonstrate the impact of evidence—in this case, research that connects the availability of safe adequate homes to family health, educational opportunities, and supportive environments—on the success of campaigns to advance housing trust funds.
Author: Center for Community Change (CCC) Type: Research & Reports Date: Feb 1, 2013 Be the first to review this resource! Download (637.9 KB) -
The Metrics Café: A Guide to Bring Funders and Grantees to the Table The Metrics Café from MIT's D-Lab offers a user-friendly, light-hearted take on understanding how metrics can be selected by funders and grantees. The guide likens metrics selection to meal formats, offering case examples and tips on when and how to use the four approaches:
Author: Laura Budzyna Type: Workbooks & Guides Date: Apr 1, 2017 Point K Pick Be the first to review this resource! Download (395.22 KB)