In PA 746: Organizational Learning and Nonprofit Management, students participated in consultant teams in Community-Based Organization (CBO) Support Projects. Our team, comprised of Nikki D’Assis, Kayte Reagan, Daniel Ross-Jones, and myself, assisted nonprofit Social Justice Collaborative an improvement effort by applying analyzing, synthesizing, and offering solutions through an organizational learning and evaluation framework. When paired with organizational learning, evaluation goes beyond its utility as a reporting mechanism by providing “a means of learning and a facilitator of growth” (Hoole & Patterson, 2008, p. 96) in a culture where people are “continuously creating, organizing, storing, retrieving, interpreting, and applying information” to improve various aspects of the organization (Gill, 2010, p. 6).

The project identified meaningful metrics to aid in program evaluation, grant-writing efforts and strategic planning, utilizing tools such as logic models, theories of changes, and evaluation frameworks. However, these metrics would have been meaningless without the engagement of key stakeholders. As a team, we developed strategies to engage internal stakeholders in a series of exercises aimed at connecting the dots between values and mission to metrics. We were awarded with a high grade with special acknowledgment of our Meaningful Metrics document which supplemented a 25-page report; later we learned that the metrics and other solutions provided resulted in Social Justice Collaborative obtaining a significant grant.

References:
Gill, S. (2010). Developing a Learning Culture in Nonprofit Organizations. Thousands Oaks: Sage Publications.
Hoole, E., & Patterson, T. (2008, Fall ). Voices from the field: Evaluation as part of a learning culture. New directions for evaluation, 119, 93 - 113.
Social Justice Collaborative Logo. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://socialjusticecollaborative.org/