Moving from Outputs to Outcomes: A Review of the Evolution of Performance Measurement in the Human Service Nonprofit Sector

Site-level evidence-based practice accreditation: A qualitative exploration using institutional theory

Accreditation is gaining ground in human services as leaders find ways to demonstrate the quality and legitimacy of services. This study examined site-level accreditation for SafeCare®, an evidence-based practice designed to prevent and reduce child maltreatment. We leveraged two waves of qualitative data to explore the perspectives of trainers, organizational and system leaders, and program developers who participated in an initial rollout of a site-level accreditation process for SafeCare. Institutional theory was used to frame accreditation's potential benefits, burden, and impact. Findings highlight specific considerations for the human service environment, including the inherent resource scarcity, interdependence among organizations, and the impact of cost and slow-moving bureaucratic processes.

Exploring data use in nonprofit organizations

Organizations around the world have increasingly employed data for a variety of purposes, and nonprofit organizations are no exception. This article reviews the use of data in nonprofit organizations, including the types of data collected and accessed, the motivations for data capture, and the barriers to systematic use of data. The literature shows that nonprofit organizations capture a variety of data, including public and financial data, performance measures, program evaluation data, and volunteer information. Organizations use these with diverse motivations such as program or organizational improvement, marketing, and accountability. Prominent barriers faced by organizations include challenges in identifying meaningful information, lack of technical ability, inability to prioritize data work, as well as external influences. The article highlights the challenges in synthesizing the available literature, with a high degree of fragmentation, including research from distinct intellectual traditions resulting in many disconnected constructs, measurements, and theories. Finally, the paper discusses challenges in the study of nonprofit data use and strives to provide guidance for future inquiry.

Indigenous Social Enterprises and Health and Wellbeing: A Scoping Review and Conceptual Framework

Indigenous people and communities are establishing social enterprises to address social disadvantage and overcome health inequities in their communities. This review sought to characterize the spectrum of Indigenous social enterprises in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States to identify the operational models and cultural values that underpin them and their impact on Indigenous health and wellbeing. The scoping review followed Arksey and O'Malley's six-stage methodological framework with recommended enhancements by Levac et al. underpinned by Indigenous Standpoint Theory, and an Indigenous advisory group to provide cultural oversight and direction. Of the 589 documents screened 115 documents were included in the review. A conceptual framework of seven different operational models of Indigenous social enterprises was developed based on differing levels of Indigenous ownership, control, and management: (1) individual, (2) collective, (3) delegative, (4) developmental, (5) supportive, (6) prescriptive and (7) paternalistic. Models with 100% Indigenous ownership and control were more likely to contribute to improved health and wellbeing by increasing self-determination and strengthening culture and promoting healing than others. Indigenous social enterprises could offer a more holistic and sustainable approach to health equity and health promotion than the siloed, programmatic model common in public health policy.

The new world of philanthropy: How changing financial behavior, public policies, and COVID-19 affect nonprofit fundraising and marketing

Evolving financial behavior, an unpredictable public policy atmosphere, and an unparalleled global pandemic have collaborated to disrupt nonprofit fundraising. The COVID-19 pandemic alone exacerbated consumer demands for nonprofit services while curtailing nonprofit organizations' ability to fundraise. Without fundraising, nonprofit organizations cannot achieve their mission or support their causes, leading to a precarious situation for societal well-being. Meanwhile, consumers are changing their financial behaviors, with younger generations often going cashless. At the same time, governments continue to change policies that affect nonprofit organizations. In keeping with the transformative consumer research movement, the present study provides a conceptual framework for the state of nonprofit fundraising amid the challenges associated with changes in financial behavior and public policy, coupled with the effects of the global pandemic. Marketing strategies for fundraising success are presented to aid nonprofits going forward and serve societal interests.

A novel hybrid evaluation framework for public organizations based on employees' performance factors

Performance evaluation is a comprehensive process for comparing activities compared with predetermined organizational criteria. Based on the results of performance evaluation, organizations can embark on purposeful actions to improve their situation. Obviously, the success of organizations and the economic development of the country depend on the performance of human resources (HR). This paper proposes a novel hybrid evaluation framework for analyzing the performance of public sector organizations. The suggested setting allows for performance evaluation based on a comprehensive approach involving expert knowledge. For this purpose, the research integrates the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) approach and fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. Initially, the employees' performance factors (criteria) are identified from the literature based on the BSC dimensions. Then, the most relevant of them are finalized through the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) questionnaires and experts' opinions. In the second stage, the weights of criteria are determined by adopting the fuzzy best-worst method (FBWM). Moreover, two fuzzy MCDM techniques, namely VIKOR and Grey Relational Analysis (GRA), are used to examine the performance of the eight important public sector organizations of Iran. Finally, a Monte Carlo simulation-based (MCSB) approach and a scenario-based (SCB) approach are applied to compare the effectiveness of fuzzy VIKOR and fuzzy GRA. The results suggest that the critical employees' performance factors include sharing knowledge with colleagues (0.136), optimal use of facilities (0.123) and participation in solving organizational issues (0.118). Additionally, based on the implemented sensitivity analysis approaches, fuzzy VIKOR generates more reliable results and also has higher robustness than fuzzy GRA.

Performance measurement and NPOs' effectiveness: does internal stakeholders' trust matter? Evidence from Palestine

Purpose

This study proposes a model of the effect of financial and non-financial performance measures on nonprofit organizations’ (NPOs’) effectiveness where internal stakeholders' trust play an intervening role in the aforementioned relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 218 employees working at the largest Palestinian NPOs. The perceptions of these employees were used to measure the variables, and structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypotheses.

Findings

Results suggest that the use of financial and non-financial performance measures was positively related to NPOs' effectiveness. Internal stakeholders' trust showed a significant mediating effect between the use of performance measures and NPOs' effectiveness.

Practical implications

This study may be of value for NPOs' managers due to the positive effects performance measurement (PM) can have on NPO effectiveness. Managers and boards should seek to enhance their internal stakeholders' trust to achieve higher levels of effectiveness.

Originality/value

This study has three main contributions. First, it is one of the very few papers which empirically examines the links between PM and NPOs' effectiveness, rather than providing conceptual lens. Second, the paper investigates the role of stakeholders' trust as a mediating mechanism in the proposed model, a topic that has been neglected by NPOs governance researchers. Finally, the study uses data from the Palestinian context, contributing to the PM literature by providing evidence on the relationship between performance measures and NPOs' effectiveness from a non-Western context.

Design and Implementation Factors for Performance Measurement in Non-profit Organizations: A Literature Review

Purpose: Performance measurement systems (PMS) in Non-profit Organizations (NPOs) are more complex than in for-profit organizations. NPOs have an orientation toward social mission and values, and they consider not only organizational efficiency and viability, but also the social impact of the organization. This research provides a comprehensive synthesis of PMSs in NPOs.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Using a literature review, supported by bibliometric and network analyses. A paper set of 240 articles related to this research field is examined. Topics that are the most prevalent in this research area and their interrelationships are identified, presenting an outline of current efforts.

Findings: Despite the descriptive analyses for the paper set, a framework is proposed for organizing the design-implementation factors of PMSs in non-profit organizations, identifying the main requirements for their successful development.

Originality/Value: Investigation on performance measurement in non-profit organizations is still in its early stages of development with many opportunities to further develop the field. Conceptual frameworks and models, as well as specific theories, are being generated for this field of research, and the process of adapting models from the general field of performance measurement is taking place. The meta-framework that organizes the main research topics of PMS in non-profit organizations and the framework that consolidates factors that influence the design-implementation of PMSs in non-profit organizations developed represents this paper contribution.

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT IN TRIBAL HOME VISITING: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Over the last several decades, performance measurement has become an increasingly prevalent requirement among human services agencies for demonstrating program progress and achieving outcomes. In the Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (Tribal MIECHV), performance measurement was one of the central components of the Administration for Children and Families' cooperative agreements to tribes, urban Indian organizations, and tribal organizations. Since the inception of the Tribal MIECHV Program in 2010, the benchmark requirement was intended to be a mechanism to systematically monitor program progress and performance toward improving the quality of home-visiting programs that serve vulnerable American Indian or Alaska Native families. In this article, we examine performance measurement in the context of Tribal MIECHV, providing an overview of performance measurement, the Tribal MIECHV requirement, and how grantees experienced the requirement; we describe the existing literature on performance measurement challenges and benefits, and the specific challenges and advantages experienced by tribal grantees; and provide recommendations for performance measurement in tribal home-visiting contexts based on grantees' own experiences. This article contributes to the literature by examining performance measurement challenges and opportunities in the context of tribal communities, and provides recommendations that may inform future policy on performance measurement design and implementation in tribal communities.

Characterizing the Quality Workforce in Private U.S. Child and Family Behavioral Health Agencies

Behavioral health agencies have been encouraged to monitor performance and improve service quality. This paper characterizes the workforce charged with these tasks through a national survey of 238 behavioral health quality professionals. A latent class analysis suggests only 30 % of these workers report skills in both basic research and quality-specific skills. Respondents wanted to learn a variety of research and data analytic skills. The results call into question the quality of data collected in behavioral health agencies and the conclusions agencies are drawing from their data. Professional school and continuing education programs are needed to prepare this workforce.

Tracking Success: Outputs Versus Outcomes-A Comparison of Accredited and Non-Accredited Public Health Agencies' Community Health Improvement Plan objectives

With funding for public health initiatives declining, creating measurable objectives that are focused on tracking and changing population outcomes (i.e., knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors), instead of those that are focused on health agencies' own outputs (e.g., promoting services, developing communication messages) have seen a renewed focus. This study analyzed 4094 objectives from the Community Health Improvement Plans (CHIPs) of 280 local PHAB-accredited and non-accredited public health agencies across the United States. Results revealed that accredited agencies were no more successful at creating outcomes-focused objectives (35% of those coded) compared to non-accredited agencies (33% of those coded; Z = 1.35, p = .18). The majority of objectives were focused on outputs (accredited: 61.2%; non-accredited: 63.3%; Z = 0.72, p = .47). Outcomes-focused objectives primarily sought to change behaviors (accredited: 85.43%; non-accredited: 80.6%), followed by changes in knowledge (accredited: 9.75%; non-accredited: 10.8%) and attitudes (accredited: 1.6%; non-accredited: 5.1%). Non-accredited agencies had more double-barreled objectives (49.9%) compared to accredited agencies (32%; Z = 11.43, p < .001). The authors recommend that accreditation procedures place a renewed focus on ensuring that public health agencies strive to achieve outcomes. It is also advocated that public health agencies work with interdisciplinary teams of Health Communicators who can help them develop procedures to effectively and efficiently measure outcomes of knowledge and attitudes that are influential drivers of behavioral changes.

From performance to performativity: The legitimization of US security contracting and its consequences

Discussions about the legitimacy of private security companies (PSCs) in multilateral military interventions abound. This article looks at how the United States has sought to legitimize the outsourcing of security services to PSCs through performance-based contracting and performance assessments. Both mechanisms aim to demonstrate the effective provision of publicly desirable outcomes. However, the immaterial and socially constructed nature of security presents major problems for performance assessments in terms of observable and measurable outcomes. Performance has therefore given way to performativity - that is, the repetitive enactment of particular forms of behaviour and capabilities that are simply equated with security as an outcome. The implications of this development for the ways in which security has been conceptualized, implemented and experienced within US interventions have been profound. Ironically, the concern with performance has not encouraged PSCs to pay increased attention to their impacts on security environments and civilian populations, but has fostered a preoccupation with activities and measurable capabilities that can be easily assessed by government auditors.

New ways of seeing: Health social work leadership and research capacity building

Building research capacity amongst social work practitioners is critically important for leaders in the social work profession. To reverse an apparent reluctance to use evidence and engage in research, strong social work leadership in practice organisations is needed. The literature on leadership in health social work is relatively silent regarding research capacity building as a leadership attribute but it is argued in this paper that leadership is crucial. A programme of research capacity building and its outcomes in a health social work department is described, identifying key principles guiding its establishment and tasks undertaken. A transformational leadership style characterised this approach to research capacity building which delivered benefits to the staff and the service.