Measurement & Evaluation - Most Popular

New ways to measure and evaluate the impact an organization’s work has on society (more)

Podcast

Carol Larson - Assessing Performance and Refining Strategy

What does it take to keep a large foundation focused on evaluation for self-improvement? As part of the Stanford Social Innovation Review's conference on evaluation, Carol Larson, CEO of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, shares tools, lessons, and strategies for assessing performance to create a "culture of inquiry." Organizational qualities such as innovation, collaboration among stakeholders, and freedom to make "mistakes" are critical elements to foster an effective learning enterprise.

Podcast

Panel Discussion - Skoll World Forum: Assessing Impact

In considering the effectiveness of your social enterprise, are you making a difference? Do you add value to your constituents' lives? Are you as effective as possible per dollar output? In this panel discussion at the 2008 Skoll World Forum, talented experts talk about the challenges of social enterprises and how metrics can impact organizational learning and innovation, and lead the more effective use of resources.

Podcast

Good Measures Conference - Evaluation in the Nonprofit Sector

Evaluation is one of the most powerful mechanisms a nonprofit organization can use to unlock its potential, become more effective, and achieve success. But traditional evaluation methods are expensive, require thorough knowledge of the social sciences, and take a good deal of time to perform. In this part of the Stanford Social Innovation Review's conference on evaluation, Mark Kramer details how nonprofits can better incorporate evaluation to achieve their mission and bring about social change.

Philanthropy

Feedback Loops that Matter

By Lucy Bernholz

Shouldn't nonprofits and philanthropies be aiming for "customer satisfaction" too?

Nonprofits

Giving vs. Free

By Sean Stannard-Stockton 1

Doing good is not the same as giving something away for free.

Podcast

Alana Conner - Evaluation for Normal People

In the frenzy over accountability, funders, donors, and the general public are calling for more program evaluation. Yet few understand how expensive and complex good evaluation is. Speaking at the 2006 Nonprofit Management Institute at Stanford, Alana Conner, senior editor of the Stanford Social Innovation Review illustrates how half-hearted evaluation can do more harm than good. Rick Aubry and Victor Kuo join her to give nonprofit and foundation perspectives.

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Social Innovations

Reimagining Microfinance

By Alex Counts 9

Critics of microfinance institutions (MFIs) ask them to choose between helping the poor or making money for investors, but this is a false choice. MFIs can have their impact and profit, too, says the author, the CEO of the Grameen Foundation. He sketches a new vision of microfinance as a platform, not a product; one that relies on high volumes, not high margins, and that uses limits on private benefit, holistic performance standards, and third-party certification to help MFIs meet both their bottom lines.