Tools, Thoughts and Things one can Do with a little Time and Hardly any Resources

The Association of Chief Executives of 3rd Sector Organisations (ACEVO) helps facilitate learning and contacts for 3rd sector leaders in the UK, across Europe and Internationally.

Here's an interesting publication that should be of interest to any 3rd sector CEO as well as Chairmen - Measuring performance is a key, but sadly often ignored area in the 3rd sector.

 

Do you want to measure your organisation’s performance?

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One further take on this area is the Measuring Impact approach as pioneered through IBM's On Demand Community. Go here to learn more about the very successful workshop the At One Foundation members attended on this subject.

Now one of the reasons why these exercises sometimes go wrong is that people too easily switch to the private sector obsession (originating, I believe, from the otherwise clever heads at McKinsey & Co): "What can be measured, can be managed" - Now not all things should be managed. Especially not in the third sectors where motivations for volunteering and delivering often are very different from the public or private sector. Nevertheless, there is an interesting report by McKinsey & Co on "Effective Capacity Building in Nonprofit Organizations" (PDF) showing they do indeed have an understanding reaching a bit beyond the mantra.

I would suggest the right way of looking at it would be to follow the sage advice Mike Booth, of one of the IBM consultants from the At One Foundation workshop mentioned above, - saying it is about: "Making the important measurable, not the measurable important".