| Session Title: Measuring the Effects of Organizational Capacity Building in Israeli Social Change Nonprofits |
| Think Tank Session 350 to be held in Centennial Section A on Thursday, Nov 6, 3:35 PM to 4:20 PM |
| Sponsored by the Organizational Learning and Evaluation Capacity Building TIG |
| Presenter(s): |
| Nancy Jill Strichman, Independent Consultant, strichman@ie.technion.ac.il |
| Discussant(s): |
| William Bickel, University of Pittsburgh, bickel@pitt.edu |
| Abstract: Capacity building for organizational growth and learning is receiving growing attention in the nonprofit sector (Strichman, Bickel & Marshood, 2007; Blumenthal, 2003). Accordingly, there is a crucial need in the evaluation community to develop practical ways to gauge whether such capacity building efforts are having intended effects (Light, 2004; Wing, 2004). Organizational assessment tools are increasingly used by funders and evaluators as part of an effort to gain insight both into the capacity building process, as well as nonprofits' organizational culture and its link to organizational performance (Davidson, 2001; Light, 2004; Guthrie & Preston, 2003). This think tank focuses on an evaluation of capacity building in Israel being undertaken by Shatil, the New Israel Fund's Empowerment and Training Center for Social Change Organizations. The work is being evaluated via a number of methods; central to this discussion will be the presentation of a nonprofit self-assessment tool for measuring organizational capacities. |