Evaluation Capacity Building: Funder Initiatives to Strengthen Grantee Evaluation Capacity and Practice

Innovation Network has a wealth of experience as an evaluation capacity builder. One way we often provide ECB services is to a group of grantees. Over the years we have provided funder-sponsored ECB services to a number of grantee cohorts. The following three case studies share our experiences with funder initiatives to strengthen grantee evaluation capacity and practice. Each case study includes a description of the overall grantmaking initiative, followed by a discussion of the ECB services requested by grantees and/or provided by Innovation Network. The paper concludes with a reflection on lessons learned and recommendations for funders considering ECB for their grantee

Community Development Evaluation Storymap and Legend

Community based organizations, funders, and intermediary organizations working in the community development field have a shared interest in building stronger organizations and stronger communities. Through evaluation these organizations can learn how their programs and activities contribute to the achievement of these goals, and how to improve their effectiveness and the well-being of their communities. Yet, evaluation is rarely seen as part of a non-judgemental organizational learning process. Instead, the term "evaluation" has often generated anxiety and confusion. The Community Development Storymap project is a response to those concerns.Illustrations found in this document were produced by Grove Consultants

Evaluation of EPIM III: Emerging Insights From the Evaluation So Far

This report sets out some emerging insights from the ongoing evaluation of the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM) 2012-2015 programme. The activities of EPIM and this evaluation lie at the very heart of EPIM's efforts to strengthen the capacity of NGOs active in migration and integration issues, to engage with and influence decision-making at EU and Member state levels, and to do so by drawing on a rigorous evidence base, and through a pragmatic approach. Founded in 2005 as an activity of the Network of European Foundations (NEF) in a unique effort to fund European migration and integration organisations, EPIM's activities include strategic grant-making as well as networking, capacity-building, supporting advocacy and policy work. The Programme has now disbursed over 3m to more than 24 grantee organisations. Drawing on experience and learning from previous phases, EPIM's current three core areas of focus are asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, and equality, integration and social inclusion of vulnerable migrants. Recognising the importance of the role played by civil society, one of EPIM's key goals is to strengthen the advocacy capacities of NGOs at the European level. This goal reflects the fact that over the past decade the EU has become an important actor in the field of immigration and asylum, as well as that the majority of countries face some challenges in this area

Creating the N-Form Corporation as a Managerial Competence

This paper discusses key properties of the N-form corporation or internal network forms of organizing from three mutually related perspectives: structure, knowledge flows and management processes. To operationalize knowledge flows, a key property of N-forms, the paper suggests a new measure, the H/V ratio, to empirically assess the configuration of knowledge flows. The argument is illustrated by a case study of a firm showing that top management's perception about having an internal network contradicts with reality as vertical knowledge flows appear to dominate the horizontal ones. The managerial competence required for creating internal networks aimed at knowledge creation and sharing will be discussed.internal networks;knowledge flows;N-form Corporation;Organizational forms;managerial competence

Disease Surveillance Networks Initiative Asia: Final Evaluation

The DSN Initiative was launched in 2007 under the new strategy of the Rockefeller Foundation. The initiative intends:[1] To improve human resources for disease surveillance in developing countries, thus bolstering national capacity to monitor, report, and respond to outbreaks;[2] To support regional networks to promote collaboration in disease surveillance and response across countries; and[3] To build bridges between regional and global monitoring effortsThe purpose of the DSN evaluation in the Mekong region was twofold:[1]To inform the work and strategy of the Foundation, its grantees, and the broader field of disease surveillance, based on the experience of DSN investments in the Mekong region. More specifically, the evaluation will inform future directions and strategies for current areas of DSN Initiative work, particularly in Asia, and will highlight potential new areas of work and strategy; and[2] To provide accountability to the Rockefeller Foundation's board, staff, and stakeholders for the DSN funds spent in the Mekong region

Development of a Web-based land evaluation system and its application to population carrying capacity assessment using .Net technology

The multi-disciplinary approach used in this study combines the state-of-the-art IT technology with an elaborated land evaluation methodology and results in a Web-based land evaluation system (WLES). The WLES is designed in such a way that the system operates both as a Web Application and as a Web Service. Implemented on top of the .NET platform, the WLES has a loosely coupled multi-layer structure which seamlessly integrates the domain knowledge of land evaluation and the soil database. The Web Service feature makes the WLES suitable to act as a building block of a larger system such as that of the population carrying capacity (PCC) assessment. As a reference application, a framework is made to assess the PCC on the basis of the production potential calculations which are available through the WLES Web Service interface

School Leadership Interventions Under the Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence Review - Updated and Expanded

This RAND analysis offers guidance to states and districts on how they can choose to use the Every Student Succeeds Act to help achieve their school improvement goals by supporting principals and other school leaders