A Comparative Analysis of the Capacity-building Industries in Pittsburgh and Central Texas

Five years ago, The Forbes Funds provided support for a new research series exploring challenges and strategic opportunities in nonprofit management in the Pittsburgh region.The intention of this research was to determine what works in strengthening nonprofits' organizational capacity and management abilities, as well as what may be the barriers or service gaps in building nonprofit capacity. As part of this research series, in 2004,The Forbes Funds commissioned Judith L. Millesen, at Ohio University, and Angela L. Bies, at Texas A&M University, to conduct a comprehensive analysis of Pittsburgh's capacity-building "industry." This "Pittsburgh study" offered detailed findings about the degree to which Pittsburgh's "industry of consultants, firms, management support organizations, and academic centers offer accessible, quality services to the 1,600 nonprofit organizations in Allegheny County."1 With ongoing support from The Forbes Funds, Drs. Bies and Millesen also conducted continuing analyses during 2005, which explored the incentive to engage in capacity building (Millesen & Bies, 2005) and the role of 'learning' in building nonprofit performance (Bies & Millesen, 2005).During 2005-06, a replication study was conducted in and around Austin,Texas.2 A key purpose of the study was to help afford a comparative analysis of the nonprofit sectors in two metropolitan regions with differing environments, economies, and capacity-building industries. With support from The Forbes Funds, the Bremer Foundation, and the Minnesota Council on Nonprofits, a third replication study is planned for 2006-07 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.The Texas replication study shared the Pittsburgh study's focus on understanding the characteristics of effective capacity-building initiatives through an examination of a series of questions related to who (the capacity builders) is doing what (the kinds of support services provided) for whom (what types of nonprofits are engaging in capacity-building initiatives) and to what end (whether capacity-building initiatives produce desired organizational change).The core research purpose remained to describe and analyze several aspects of the capacity-building environment, including the quantity, accessibility, and quality of capacity building services, characteristics of effective capacity building, and challenges and barriers to implementing capacity-building interventions. Both the Austin study and the Pittsburgh study offered implications for practice and suggested directions for future research into capacity building's effectiveness and influence in the sector

The Use of a GPA Prediction Formula to Better Prepare the Freshman Student-Athlete for College Academic Success: One School's Approach

This study anaylzed academic data from 1,100 athletes, including 324 football students, at the University of Missouri, Columbia from 1980 to 1985. The goal was to develop a prediction formula consistening of variables that best predicted first semester fall GPAs of freshmen student-athletes. The predictions could then be used to help advise appropriate academic coursework for the group, to identify and to assist the incoming high risk freshmen become better prepared academically, and to help identify high risk candidates during recruiting. Variables included ACT composite score; all ACT subscores; high school percentile; high school size; race; hometown location; freshman or transfer status; scholarship status; fall UMC semester hours attempted and earned; winter UMC hours attempted and earned. The criterion variable was fall GPA. Winter GPA and year GPA were also included as variables to look at any significant correlations. A multiple regression procedure was then used to generate a prediction formula that best predicted the fall GPA of the freshmen student-athletes. Using the prediction formula student-athletes are grouped into four categories: no or minimal risk, little risk, moderate risk, and high risk. The categories were used for academic advising, the Study Skills Improvement Program, tutoring needs, hours requirements for study hall and tutoring, and identifying those who might benefit from special learning workshops and diagnostic testing. The hope is that coaches will also use this model for recruiting decisions

An Analysis of the Nonprofit and Volunteer Capacity-Building Industries in Central Texas

Based on a Collaboration of The LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin & The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M UniversityRecent research has identified explosive growth in the nonprofit sector and an increased interest in evaluating and improving nonprofit performance through organizational capacity building. The growing emphasis on capacity-building services for nonprofits nationwide has resulted in the need for better information about support services for the sector. Considering the burgeoning role of capacity building in nonprofit operations, it is important to understand more about the industry that provides support and resources to nonprofits, including in the growing communities located in Central Texas. This report represents the first comprehensive study of nonprofit and volunteer capacity-building activities in Central Texas. The result of a unique collaboration between graduate students at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, this study was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Angela Bies at the Bush School and Dr. Sarah Jane Rehnborg at the LBJ School. Twenty-three graduate students in both programs conducted the research and analysis for this report from September 2005 through April 2006. The Bush School and the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the LBJ School provided funding for the study. The project also partnered on a pro bono basis with two client organizations, the United Way Capital Area and the Texas Nonprofit Management Assistance Network. The primary research objective was to replicate two recent studies. The first was Millesen and Bies 2004 report for the Forbes Funds, An Analysis of the Pittsburgh Region s Capacity- Building Industry. The second was an examination of volunteer management capacity modeled on a nationwide volunteer management study (Hager, 2004) conducted by the Urban Institute in collaboration with the Corporation for National and Community Service. Because our research took place in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, we also explored nonprofit capacity issues related to emergency interventions, particularly how crises affect organizations needs for and uses of capacity building.United Way Capital Area; Texas Nonprofit Management Assistance Networ

After the Spill

College of Natural Science

Start with the Student

College of Natural Science

Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Keats Criticism

This essay offers a survey of major twentieth- and twenty-first-century interpretations of Keats's life and work. Mapping lines of influence between distinctive formal, theoretical and historical approaches to Keats's oeuvre, I highlight significant critical trends and areas of recurrent formal and thematic interest in Keats studies. When appropriate, current confluences between these theoretical and historical methodologies are noted. Given the wide scope of material available, prominence has been given to those projects (where possible, emphasis is given to critical books) which both represent particular twentieth-century critical perspectives or thematic concerns and are important studies in themselves. This survey closes by indicating potential areas for future research and observes that many twentieth-century critical viewpoints and issues remain vital to Keats studies at the start of the twenty-first century