Embedding evaluation in non-profit organisations: lessons from evaluation advocates

Abstract

Integrating evaluation initiatives in organisations as part of routine operations to support organisational learning and development can be difficult; extant literature lacks detail on the factors enhancing sustainability. This article presents research undertaken with evaluation advocates attempting to embed evaluation in their Australian non-profit organisations. The research involved interviewing seventeen participants, four of whom also were the focus of organisational case studies. The researchers used social interdependence theory to understand participants’ strategies for embedding evaluation and found that some elements of cooperative teamwork were more prominent than others. Participants in high hierarchical positions, or those who had influence, worked intentionally and incorporated strategies that aligned with all five elements. Examples of those strategies and their use in context presented herein may help leaders and internal and external evaluators increase the likelihood of embedding evaluation in organisational systems.