Nonprofits & NGOs
When NGOs Confront Bureaucracy
An educational collaboration between a literacy program for public schools and the government of Punjab, India, struggles with accountability and political support.
Tag: Performance Metrics
Measurement & Evaluation
Ten Reasons Not to Measure Impact—and What to Do Instead
Impact evaluations are an important tool for learning about effective solutions to social problems, but they are a good investment only in the right circumstances.
Education
Low Performance and High Satisfaction: The Information Paradox of Bad Schools
Parents in emerging economies seem happy with schools that don’t teach their kids very much. The lack of demand for good quality education could be one of the biggest barriers to solving the education crisis.
Scaling
Earning the Right to Scale
Throughout the nonprofit sector, scaling is viewed as a cardinal imperative. But a surprising number of organizations are not (or not yet) equipped to expand their impact. Is your organization truly ready to scale? Here is a tool to help you find out.
Measurement & Evaluation
Chasing the Holy Grail of Outcomes
Philanthropists need to acknowledge the challenges nonprofits face in reporting succinct and compelling outcomes, and to avoid celebrating simplistic claims.
Measurement & Evaluation
Can Measures Change the World?
Our ability to track and report is accelerating, resulting in a proliferation of measures. It’s time to focus more effort on understanding how those measures can be used to change complex social systems.
Measurement & Evaluation
At the Heart of Impact Measurement, Listening to Customers
Investors looking for data on social impact should start by helping investees deliver a compelling value proposition.
Governance
A Roadmap to Better Boards
It’s time for nonprofits to recognize that diverse groups are more innovative and better performing, and to apply that insight to their organizations’ governing bodies.
Measurement & Evaluation
How Nonprofits Can Drive Healthy Growth Using SROI
Social return on investment is an underutilized yet surprisingly flexible tool for making strong resource allocation decisions that maximize nonprofit impact.
Measurement & Evaluation
Harnessing the Power of Evidence
Better use of evidence and developments in evaluation practice can shift the power dynamic between funders, service-delivering organizations, and service users.