Description
Thoughtful, meaningful evaluation is a vital tool that can help any organization progress in ways that lead to greater achievement of its mission. As an ongoing process to achieve organizational effectiveness, evaluation can be a source of power and a force for change. However people in nonprofit organizations too often see evaluation as something that is done to them rather than something they can dot themselves to strenghten their performance. Until now, they lacked the support and guidance they needed to make evaluation part of their everyday work. Evaluation With Power provides that support and guidance. Building on INDEPENDENT SECTORS ongoing research on evaluation, it is a practical, comprehensive handbook for transforming the organization, its management, programs, process, and organizational evaluation into a positive learning experience that connects performance to mission. The book focuses on the needs of the nonprofit and reveals the sort of evaluation that is most appropriate to and helpful for nonprofits. Sandra Trice Gray has brought together leading experts from a wide range of fields to show how to use the power of evaluation in key organizational areas, including program design, human resource management, information systems, volunteers, fund raising and more. Evaluation With Power shows that true evaluation is a process of asking good questions, gathering information to answer them, and making decisions based on those answers Evaluation With Power provides members of nonprofit sector organizations at all levels with the information and guidance they need to make evaluation work. It explains how evaluation relates to board and staff concernsand shows how it can help create an environment for learning and renewal. It provides the “how” of an ongoing process of evaluation and will help organizations make the most of limited resources and ensure its viability and health in a changing environment.
