Thoughts and Reflections on Ebrahim and Rangan

Thus far, I view the Ebrahim and Katuri Rangan article (2010) to be the most useful framework for effectiveness, impact, and measurement we have read.

Throughout our various conversations in class I have struggled to objectively define output, outcomes, and impact. I really wish we read this article earlier, but maybe the struggle with these terms was apart of our learning process. I find that the table Rebecca put together in her blog from the reading is a clear example of a useful framework or typology to assess the performance of various nonprofits. I have struggled this semester with the "one-size fits all" notion that nonprofits can evaluated in the same ways, especially considering the extreme variability of nonprofits in terms of mission and theories of change. After our previous nonprofit course, I admit I was attracted to the idea of seeking to evaluate organizations based solely upon financials, but am now conscious of the multitudes of means to measure effectiveness and impact.

In the reading I was drawn to the problem of causality for nonprofits when they are attempting express their effectiveness in terms of output, outcomes, and impact. The problem of proving causality seems to be the biggest problem for nonprofits who wish to relate their own activities to effective fulfillment of their mission or cause. I am certainly glad that I learned about causality last semester, and the significant difficulty of proving it. This will no doubt be important if I wish to administratively contribute to a nonprofit in the future.

As Ebrahim and Kasturi Rangan showed, nonprofit managers of the future are going to have to contend with an increased amount of scrutiny pertaining to accountability and effectiveness (from both funders and the public). Social media will more than likely augment this trend as we can see with both our social media and Charity Navigator projects. Thus, it falls on us to develop a concrete understanding of evaluation theory and practice if we wish to be more effective as future nonprofit professionals.