Evaluation and Accountability

Evaluation is an important tool for demonstrating the impact of non-profit and voluntary sector organization work to constituents, boards, members, donors, funders, and the public at large. It can also open new windows for improving the performance of organizations—whether it is better service delivery, improved volunteer management practices, or more effective government relations. The preparation, reflection, and practice of evaluation also plays an important role in helping organizations to understand potential challenges, define strategic priorities, and identify new opportunities.

Our work in this area focuses on strengthening the capacity of non-profit and voluntary organization to evaluate their programs and projects; researching and sharing cases and best practices; and integrating evaluation into all aspects of CVSRD’s work as a way of promoting learning and sustainability.

Key work in this area includes CVSRD’s involvement in the Voluntary Sector Evaluation Research Project (VSERP).

Assessing Performance: Evaluation Perspectives in Canada’s Voluntary Sector, Michael Hall, Susan Phillips, Claudia Meillat, Donna Pickering, 2003 (PDF, 414 Kb)

VSERP was a five-year initiative (2000-2005) to improve the capacity of voluntary organizations to assess their performance and communicate their effectiveness to their funders, stakeholders and the public. The project was developed to respond to the need that many voluntary organizations have to demonstrate the effectiveness of their work; both as a means of improving their programs and services and as a response to the demands of funders and the public. The project included four key components:

• Assessing the Capacity and Needs of Voluntary Organizations in the area of performance assessment research via group consultations with representatives of voluntary organizations and their funders along with a national survey of voluntary organizations.
• Developing Recommendations for Building Performance Assessment Capacity and Resources by re-convening the groups created in Phase I, providing them with the results of the needs and capacity assessment and seeking their input on next steps.
• Implementing Recommended Solutions through the creation of a number of joint voluntary sector—university teams.
• Creating Local Demonstration Projects to develop best practices for the application of resources and for connecting community organizations to resource tools and expertise.
• A Dissemination, Knowledge Transfer, and Capacity Building Component that will promote the use of the performance assessment resources that have been developed.

VSERP was co-directed by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (Imagine Canada) and the Centre for Voluntary Sector Research and Development (CVSRD) and worked in partnership with United Way of Canada—Centraide Canada, YMCA Canada, Volunteer Canada, Max Bell Foundation, CCAF Canada (formerly the Canadian Comprehensive Auditing Foundation), Community Foundations of Canada, and Philanthropic Foundations Canada. The project was funded by a Community-University Research Alliance grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), an independent federal granting agency, and the Max Bell Foundation. It also received support from Human Resources Development Canada.