Hallie Preskill - Keynote

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Evaluation andOrganizational Capacity Building

Hallie Preskill, Ph.D.Claremont Graduate University

[email protected]

909-607-0457

Keynote presentation at the

Organizational Learning and Evaluation Conference

May 11, 2006

Burlingame, CA
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Presentation Goals

To consider the ways in which evaluationcontributes to organizational learningand why

we should care

To reflect on the state of the evaluation field andthe realities of todays organizations

To consider the ways in which evaluation can

contribute to building organizational capacity forlearning, growth, and effectiveness


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Envisioning Success

Turn to a person next to you - introduce yourself, and interview

each other (5 minutes each) with the following questions:

Imagine it is 2009 and your organization is tremendously

successful it continuously exceeds its goals andobjectives. It has been so effective, that it has received

a variety of awards and publicity for its phenomenalefforts. Thinking as if it were now 2009, describe whatyour organization looks like and feels like.

What is it doing?

Who is involved?

What role do you play?

What is the core factor that has made it sosuccessful?


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The Realities of Todays Organizations

In the next 3 years, 1/3 of U.S. companies will lose 11%or more of their workforce to baby boomers retiring.

60% of new jobs in the 21st century will require skills

possessed by only 20% of the current workforce.

By 2008, 70% of the new labor force will be women and

minorities. By 2010 - U.S. workforce will be 34%

nonwhite.

Knowledge workers will be companies most valuable

source of competitive advantage in 2020.

Collaboration and the use of technology will drive success.


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Challenges for Todays Nonprofits

Deficit of senior leaders; over the next 10 yrs.,640,000 new seniormanagers will be needed

75% of executives plan to leave their jobs within 5 years; 29% have

discussed a succession plan with their boards

Growing number of non-profits; decline in average # of hrs. workedper week, avg. weekly earnings, hourly wages

Increasing competition from other nonprofits and the business sector

Increasing expectations for financial tracking and reporting; (44%) is

spent on compliance activities Increasing complexity of government funding processes with

differing requirements


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Questions Faced by Nonprofit Managers

How do we measure the impact of our work? What does venture philanthropy mean to us?

How do we replicate successful programs?

How can we use the Internet to attract new donors and build

deeper donor relationships? How can we hire and retain talented people in this new economy?

Should we ally or merge with other nonprofits?

How do we compete with for-profits?

How do we develop commercial activities as part of our nonprofit

mission?

What role should our board play in ensuring our success?

Source: McKinsey & Company


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State of the Evaluation Field - Who

Increasing number of AEA members

Increasing attendance at AEA conference

Increasing attendance at AEA workshops Increasing number of AEA regional

affiliates

Increasing internationalization ofevaluation


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State of the Evaluation Field - What

Increasing interest and commitment to use

Increasing commitment to participatory,

collaborative, democratic, empowerment

approaches Increasing emphasis on formative evaluations

Increasing concern for, and commitment to,

cultural responsiveness and competence Increasing amount of evaluation capacity

building


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Building EvaluationCapacity

Evaluation capacity building is theintentional work to continuously create

and sustain overall organizationalprocesses that make quality evaluation

and its uses routine.

(Stockdill, Baizerman, & Compton, 2002)


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Building OrganizationalCapacity

An organizations capacity is its potential toperform its ability to successfully apply its

skills and resources toward the

accomplishment of its goals and thesatisfaction of its stakeholders expectations.The aim of capacity development is to improvethe organizations performance by increasing

its potential in terms of its resources andmanagement.

(www.capacity.org, 2003, p. 3)
http://www.capacity.org/http://www.capacity.org/


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Framework for Thinking about Evaluationand Organizational Learning Capacity

Whatassumptions about evaluation guidecapacity building efforts?

Whois involved in building capacity?

Wheredoes capacity building happen? Whencan OL and evaluation support capacity

building?

Howdo we build evaluation and organizationalcapacity for learning, growth, change?

Whyshould OL and evaluation capacity buildingefforts be supported?


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Whatdefinition of evaluation is most useful?

Program evaluation is the systematic collection ofinformation about the activities, characteristics, and

outcomes of programs to make judgments about the

program, improve program effectiveness, and/or

inform decisions about future programming. (Patton, 1997, p. 23)

Evaluative inquiry is an ongoing process for

investigating and understanding critical organization

issues. It is an approach to learning that is fullyintegratedwith an organizations work practices.(Preskill & Torres, 1999, p. 1-2)


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Whatassumptions guide our evaluation work?

Evaluation is a catalyst for individual, group, &organizational learning

Evaluation is an interventionchange oriented

Evaluations should only be conducted when there isintention to use the findings

Evaluation should contribute to the decision-makingprocess of organization members

Process useis as important as the use of findings

Evaluation is everyones responsibility

(Preskill, 2004)


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Evaluation is most effective when it is collaborative,participatory and learning-oriented

Involving stakeholders in evaluation processes builds

evaluation capacity The use ofdialogic processesenhances stakeholders

learning throughout the evaluation.

The most effective evaluator role is that offacilitator,guide, educator, mentor, critical friend, andconsultant.

(Preskill, 2004)


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Evaluation occurs within dynamic, changing andvolatile environments

Evaluation is inherently apolitical activity

The organizations infrastructurestronglyinfluences the extent and the ways in which evaluationis successful

Not all organizations are ready to engage in, learn

from, or act on an evaluations process andfindings

(Preskill, 2004)


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Whatis organizational learning?

Organizational learning is a social processwhereby some insight or knowledge, createdeither by an individual working alone or by ateam, becomes accessible to others

Organizational learning is not about howindividuals, as individuals, learn in anorganization, but about how individuals and

work groups working with others learn from oneanothers experience.

(Dibella & Nevis, 1998, p. 26)


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Whoshould be involved inOL and ECB efforts?

Those who:

Sponsor, commission, or fund the evaluation

Make decisions based on the results

Have provided information/data

Design, plan, or run the program

Are interested in the program (advocates and

critics)Have a right to evaluative information

Might be affected by the use of the results


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Wheredoes capacity building happen?

Individual

Group

OrganizationCommunity

Society


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Whendoes evaluation andorganizational capacity happen?

Leadership support

Broad stakeholder involvement

Spirit of inquiry

Culture of collaboration Learning systems and structures

Effective communication systems

Open attitudes towards evaluation

Perceived need or demand for evaluation

Members have evaluation skills

Resources to support ECB


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Whendoes evaluation and organizational capacityhappen?

Evaluation is asystematic and

purposeful process ofinquiry that addresses

important organizationalissues and questions

Stakeholderinvolvement

Learning

Communicating &reporting

Evaluation useDecision-making

Action

If And, it emphasizes

The organizations:Culture

LeadershipSystems & Structures

Communication ChannelsPolitics

External demands &requirements

While considering

Individuals, teams and organizationslearn, and build their own

internal evaluation capacityforongoingevaluations

Then


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Howcan we build organizational andevaluation capacity?

1. Technical Assistance

2. Training

3.

Mentoring4. Technology

5. Written Materials

6. Apprenticeship

7. Communities of Practice

8. Appreciative Inquiry


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Howcan we build organizational andevaluation capacity?

Facilitate brainstorming sessions

Schedule weekly/monthly face-to-face meetings

Provide learning opportunities for newer members

Hold book discussion groups Encourage members to read and discuss journal articles

Sponsor a Board Member Day

Sponsor a Client Day

Institute just in time learning Reward group performance

Enlist all group/team members as leaders

Address issues immediately


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Whyshould organizations and communitiessupport and sustain OL and ECB?

Increases ability to show results

Helps meet accountability demands from funders

Aligns with various process improvement initiatives

Supports efforts to acquire new or additional funding

Increases ability to gather and use information for

decision making and action

Reduces dependency on external consultants

Recognizes and utilizes the knowledge and skills of

internalmembers


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Lessons Learned About Building Capacity

Be patient and persistent.

Awareness and demand need to be cultivated carefully.

Capacity building efforts require guidance and ongoing support.

The success of evaluation capacity building is the use of evaluation

processes and findings.

Trust is the foundation for shared learning.

People and organizations learn about evaluation by doing it.

Concerns about evaluation must be addressed as they arise.

Gains in evaluation capacity are fragile - change is gradual.

Capacity building involves using wide variety of approaches.

Capacity building requires organization development skills.

Adequate resources are required for sustainability.

Capacity building is never ending.


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Moving In the Direction of Our Questions

The kinds of questions we ask ourselvescan stimulate curiosity, inspire us, open usto new discoveries, and move us in the

direction of success or they can drive usinto despair, inactivity, and failure

Great results begin with great questions.

(Adams, 2004, pgs. 48, 146)


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And Finally, The WE of Capacity Building

The WE story defines a human being in specific ways:It says we are our central selves seeking to contribute,naturally engaged, forever in a dance with each other.It points to relationship rather than to individuals, tocommunication patterns, gestures, and movementrather than to discrete objects or identities. It atteststo the in-between. Like the particle-and-wave natureof light, the WE is both a living entity and a long line ofdevelopment unfoldingBy telling the WE story, an

individual becomes a conduit for this new inclusiveentity, wearing its eyes and ears, feeling its heart,thinking its thoughts, inquiring into what is best forUS.(Zander & Zander 2002, p. 183)


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References and Selected Resources

Appreciative Inquiry Commons - http://appreciativeinquiry.cwru.edu

Adams, M. G. (2002). Change your questions, change your life. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

Dibella, A. J. & Nevis, E. C. (1998). How organizations learn. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Preskill, H. (2004). The transformative power of evaluation: Passion, purpose, andpractice. In, M. Alkin (Ed.), Evaluation roots: tracing theorists' views and influences.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Preskill, H. & Catsambas, T. T. (2006). Reframing evaluation through appreciativeinquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Preskill, H. & Coghlan, A. (Eds.) (2003). Appreciative inquiry and evaluation. NewDirections for Program Evaluation, 100. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Preskill H. & Russ-Eft, D. (2005). Building evaluation capacity: 72 activities for teachingand training. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Preskill, H. & Torres, R. T. (1999). Evaluative inquiry for learning in organizations.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Russ-Eft, D. & Preskill, H. (2001). Evaluation in organizations. Boston: Perseus Stockdill, S. H., Baizerman, M., & Compton, D. (2002). Toward a definition of the ECB

process: A conversation with the ECB literature. New Directions for Evaluation, 93, 7-25. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Whitney, D. and Trosten-Bloom, A. (2003). The power of Appreciative Inquiry. SanFrancisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

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Hallie Preskill - Keynote