Building your Organization’s Capacity

by Better Assessment:
Charting your Course by Keeping Score

Presenters:
Darcy Lien, Resources for Independence
Kelvin Alfaro, Fresno Regional foundation
About us: Kelvin
About us: Darcy
A Quick Exercise
 Happy Youth
O Merced County, CA
O 298 youth served annually

O Programs:
O Baseball
O Ballet
O Soccer
O Tutoring
O Pottery
O Bowling
 Healthy Youth
O Merced County, CA
O 100 youth served annually

O Programs:
O Sports (General)
O Tutoring
O Cooking
 The 1 Sentence Proposal

Both organizations request $500,000 for a

building retrofit, new program supplies,
etc.
 Happy Youth
“We serve almost 300 youth annually and have
program diversity not found anywhere else in
Merced County.”
 Healthy Youth
“After being engaged in the program for just
one year, over 75% of program youth report
higher self-esteem, show improved school
attendance and performance, and over 50%
enroll in honors classes for the first time in their
academic career.”
Who would you choose to fund?
 What is Assessment?
The systematic collection of information about
the activities, characteristics, and outcomes of
programs to make judgments about the
program, improve program effectiveness,
and/or inform decisions about future program
development
 Benefits of Assessment
O Organizations and individuals can use assessment to
examine anything from specific areas within an organization
(finances, staff, programs) or  community (education, child
health) to the overall conditions and quality of life in the
community.

O Assessment clarifies the state of the issues at hand in the

community and your organization, making ongoing rational
planning and ease of implementation possible.

O Assessment defines the areas – of both community assets

and needs – that should be concentrated on. Informs the
practices of change (e.g. diversity, multiculturalism) in key
areas such as programs, board training, etc. 
Benefits of Assessment Cont.
O By defining the areas of concentration, you
can give direction to the initiative, fleshing out
the strategic plan, and allowing for changes of
emphasis when necessary.
O Enhances and improves programs through
information (documentation of successes and
challenges). It shows which, if any, current
efforts are having the intended impact, and
which need to be watched carefully, changed,
or discontinued. 
 Benefits of assessment: Policy
Change
O Program assessment offers an organization the opportunity to
demonstrate the positive outcomes of its work. They show which, if
any, current efforts are bearing fruit and should be continued or
strengthened.

O By showing progress, and shedding light on what needs to be worked on, they
motivate the community, officials, and policymakers to continue the effort.

O They keep the community vision before the public, so efforts toward change
remain supported.

O They can hold the feet of politicians, corporations, agencies, and other
policymakers to the fire, pointing out their responsibility for addressing issues
when appropriate, and reminding the public to whom to complain – or protest
– when issues are not addressed.
 Areas for Assessment &
Evaluation

O Board / Governance
O Management and Staff
O Financial
O Technology
O Programmatic
 When does assessment take place?
Planning/reviewing a
program

Assessing a developing program

Assessing a mature, stable program

Assessing a program after it has ended

 Planning for Assessment
O Principle Elements to Consider:
O Goals and objectives aligned with areas being
assessed
O Question(s) to be answered are clearly defined
O Roles and resources are assigned
O Assessment instruments or approaches for data
collection and analysis are designated
O Baselines are established
O Data analysis; reporting and utilization of
findings
 Types of Assessments

• Staff
Impact • Change in
• Materials • Morbidity
• Methods • Change in • Mortality
• Content • Knowledge • Disability
• Time • Attitude • Quality of Life
• Cost • Behavior • Community level health
• Skill indicators

Outcom
Process
e
 Beginning at the End
Process Evaluation:
Predominantly Quantitative, Short-term

Did you do what you said you were

going to do?
Outcome & Impact Evaluation
O Quantitative and Qualitative, Short & Long
Term

What Difference did it make?

 Data Tools
O Process Evaluation Tools:
O Intake forms
O Attendance Sheets
O Pictures/Video/Social Media

O Outcome Evaluation Tools:

O Pre & Post Surveys
O Group assessment
O Focus Groups
O Individual interviews (formal or informal)
O Pictures/Video/Social Media
 An overview of methods to collect information
Method Overall Purpose
questionnaires, surveys,  quick and easy method;
checklists gathers tons of information
from people in a non
threatening way
interviews when want to fully understand
someone's impressions or
experiences, or learn more
about their answers to
questionnaires
Focus Groups explore a topic in depth
through group discussion, e.g., common impressions  responses
about reactions to an
experience or suggestion,
understanding common
complaints, etc.; useful in
evaluation and marketing
Advantages
-anonymous
-inexpensive
-easy to analyze
-administer to many people
-can get lots of data
-get full range and depth of
information
-develops relationship with
client
-can be flexible with client
-quickly and reliably get
-can be efficient way to get
much range and depth of
information in short time
- can convey key information
about programs
Challenges
-might not get careful
feedback
-wording can bias client's
responses
-are impersonal
-in surveys, may need
sampling expert
- doesn't get full story
-can take much time
-can be hard to analyze and
compare
-can be costly
-interviewer can bias client's
responses
-can be hard to analyze
-need good facilitator for
safety and closure
-difficult to schedule 6-8
people together
 Program Goals and Objectives
Program Logic Model

Outcomes –
Inputs Outputs short, medium,
long term
• Resources • Activities & • Effects
Participation
 “Best Practices”
At it’s best, assessment incorporates the following practices:

O Mission Driven – This purposeful and guided search for information

should link program goals to CBO’s strategic plan and mission

O A Collaborative Process – Program staff, management, clientele

(when appropriate) and other stakeholders should be involved in the
assessment process.

O Mixed Methods - Collecting quantitative and qualitative data will

enrich findings and lead to an empirical understanding of
program status and outcomes.

O Ongoing – No matter the type of assessment, periodic re-evaluation

is key to measuring growth.

O Use it or lose it - Information is only useful if it is applied.

 The Grantor’s Perspective

Fresno Regional Foundation?

Resources for Independence Central
Valley?
 Resources for Organizational
Assessment:
Data assessment and comparison tools offered by
The Pew Charitable Trusts:
www.culturaldata.org
*Arts and Culture Organization focus

Client Relationship Management systems; tracking

growth and building relationships:
www.salesforce.com

Using the Logic Model for Program Evaluation: 

W.K. Kellogg Foundation Comprehensive Guide
http://bit.ly/cmA8Li
Questions?
Contact Information
Darcy:
Kelvin: