Accountability in Action?: Program Evaluation in Nonprofit Human Service Agencies

Nonprofits and evaluation: Empirical evidence from the field

“…In a mail survey of 241 national, state, and local nonprofit organizations, OMB Watch (1998) found that more than 80% of these nonprofit organizations reported being subjected to performance measurement requirements by government agencies, foundations, other private funders, their own management, or their own board of directors. In a mail survey of 91 human service agencies in Dallas, Hoefer (2000) found that three-quarters of the agencies had participated in an evaluation within the preceding 2 years, with the majority conducting the evaluation to ensure proper program implementation. Similarly, Morley, Vinson, and Hatry (2001) found that 83% of the 36 nonprofit organizations they studied regularly collected and analyzed outcome data.…”

The Adoption of Outcome Measurement in Human Service Nonprofits

“…Hoefer (2000) surveyed Dallas nonprofits on why they did not conduct evaluations and revealed that about half of the respondents (48%) do not evaluate their programs because they do not have enough money to afford such evaluation. Nonprofits can employ performance measurement professionals, train their employees in outcome measurement, or develop a performance management system by which outcome information is appropriately used when they have sufficient financial resources for outcome measurement .…”

“…Hence, Berman and Wang (2000)'s finding has implications for performance measurement in the nonprofit sector. Complementary to this, Hoefer (2000) finds that almost half of the nonprofits (48%) did not evaluate their programs because "there was not enough staff time available to conduct an evaluation" and argues that the evaluation does not achieve its potential due to the insufficient organizational capacity (p. 171). Drawing upon the past research, we expect:…”

Evaluation Logics in the Third Sector

“…All three techniques are well articulated through an assortment of 'how to' guides (detailed below) and there is evidence that the techniques (or those that are very similar) are used within third sector organizations (e.g., see Charities Evaluation Service, 2008;Wallace et al, 2007;Campos et al, 2011;Reed & Morariu, 2010;Carman, 2007;Eckerd & Moulson, 2010;Jacobs et al, 2010;Fine et al, 2000;Hoefer et al, 2000). Whilst the three techniques share some common features, they present quite different approaches to evaluation, particularly concerning the focus on quantitative and qualitative types of data, the level of technical sophistication, the role for consultants and external experts, and the level of participation by different stakeholders.…”

“…Performance measurement and evaluation is also used for a variety of purposes, such as demonstrating accountability to donors and beneficiaries, analyzing areas of good and bad performance, and promoting the work of third sector organizations to potential funders and a wider public audience (Ebrahim, 2005;Barman, 2007;Roche, 1999;Fine et al, 2000;Hoefer et al, 2000;Campos et al, 2011). This wide range of purposes can result in a field that is often cluttered with new ideas, novel approaches and the latest toolkits (Jacobs et al, 2010).…”