During the first part of 2006, Economic Opportunity Studies collaborated with the Institute for Social and Economic Development on a survey of service-providing nonprofit organizations. We hoped that the survey would provide a picture of the evaluation-related successes, frustrations, and needs of our peers in the nonprofit world. There was a high level of interest in the survey project, but responses to the survey were few. (A summary of those responses is below.)
Nevertheless, we are more certain than ever that evaluation-related frustrations, needs, and opinions are "out there" in the nonprofit world in a big way. The primary lesson we learned from our project? A survey may not be the best way to learn what is on people’s minds, We were heartened by the words of one survey respondent who e-mailed us and who said to us, "Thank you for doing this important work." We think that it is important, too. We intend to search for a non-survey way to assess the impact on nonprofit organizations of the present-day emphasis on evaluation.
If you have any comments or suggestions, the survey project contact person, Jenny, would be delighted to hear from you. Her contact information is below. Making contact is entirely risk-free, since we are grateful for your interest, we respect your privacy, and we believe strongly in using people’s contact information only in the ways that they intend for it to be used.
Jenny can be reached at:
(202) 628-4900
jclark@opportunitystudies.org
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