Best Practices - Evaluation

Predictive Program Evaluation

Nonprofit Technology Network

By understanding how predictive analytics breaks down common evaluatoin misconceptions, nonprofit organizations can leverage the data and expertise they already have in-house to deliver successful, efficiently-run programs.

Evaluating Social Innovation
FSG 
FSG’s latest research report, collaboratively written with the Center for Evaluation Innovation, challenges grantmakers to explore the use of Developmental Evaluation when evaluating complex, dynamic, and emergent initiatives. 

Charting Impact
This website allows organizations to create concise, standardized reports about organizational plans and progress that can be shared with different stakeholders. This common approach can be used by organizations of all types, sizes and missions to consider and communicate their impact. 

Rigorous Program Evaluations on a Budget: How Low-Cost Randomized Controlled Trials are Possible in Many Areas of Social Policy
Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy
To illustrate the feasibility and value of low-cost Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) for policy officials and researchers, by providing concrete examples from diverse program areas. The guide summarizes five well-conducted, low-cost RCTs, carried out in real-world community settings. 

Grantmaker Assessment Tool
Project Streamline
This assessment tool from Project Streamline is an online survey that generates a comparative report about your foundation's grantmaking processes. The tool enables users to compare their grantmaking processes to those of other funders, as well as those described in the report Drowning in Paperwork, Distracted from Purpose. It also helps determine the costs of these processes to both funders and their grantseekers.

The California Wellness Foundation: Reflection on Evaluating Our Grants
The California Wellness Foundation
This report summarizes TCWF's evaluation experiences as they shifted from proactive grantmaking to grantmaking in response to unsolicited letters of interest and allowing them to change their evaluating structure. 

Using Evaluation to Improve Grantmaking: What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Grantor
The Colorado Trust
Foundations can use evaluation as a tool for communicating effective grantmaking strategies, conducting cost-effective analyses, demonstrating stewardship and ensuring accountability.  The report includes principals for effective grantee-focused and foundation-focused evaluation.

Making Measures Work for You: Outcomes and Evaluation
GrantCraft
This report examines tensions that drive the debate about outcomes measurement, as well as common questions about its potential risks and rewards.

The Strong Field Framework: A Guide and Toolkit for Funders and Nonprofits Committed to Large-Scale Impact
The Bridgespan Group
This report was designed to help foundations and nonprofits assess the strengths and needs in fields they seek to build and prioritize their investments in field-building efforts. Funded by the James Irvine Foundation, the report includes information on how to get started, how to develop a research agenda and how to gather and analyze results. The report also contains a case study on Irvine's "multiple pathways" approach to field assessment.

Measuring and/or Estimating Social Value Creation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The report describes and analyzes eight approaches to integrating cost in measuring and/or estimating social value creation. These include two classical methodologies (cost-effectiveness analysis and cost-benefit analysis) and six promising approaches that have been developed by philanthropic and nonprofit organizations in the last decade.

Online Applications and Reporting
Project Streamline
This report examines what funders can do to improve their grant application and reporting processes, reduce the burden on nonprofits and free up more time for mission-critical activities.