Measurement & Evaluation - Most Popular
New ways to measure and evaluate the impact an organization’s work has on society (more)
Social Innovations
Do Companies that Engage in BoP Markets Outperform the Market?
A new index is creating a benchmark for comparing large-scale companies serving the markets for the very poorest.
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.
Social Innovations
Reimagining Microfinance
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.
Social Innovations
Fierce Debate on Merits of Strategic Philanthropy
Is strategic philanthropy a wise course?
More Bang for the Buck
In virtually every for-profit industry, success hinges on producing more goods or services at a lower cost without compromising quality. But increasing productivity can work in the nonprofit world, too, as an examination of three healthy nonprofits shows.
Cultivate Your Ecosystem
Social entrepreneurs not only must understand the broad environment in which they work, but also must shape those environments to support their goals, when feasible. Borrowing insights from the field of ecology, the authors offer an ecosystems framework to help social entrepreneurs create long-lasting and significant social change.
Nonprofits
The Axiology of Nonprofit Impact
Is "return on investment" the right measure for evaluating the work of nonprofits?