Understanding Evaluation in Nonprofit Organizations

This study uses organizational theory to explore why nonprofit organizations conduct evaluations and how they use evaluation information. According to rational choice theory, managers of nonprofit organizations will conduct evaluations to make sure they are making good decisions about how to improve their services and achieve their goals. Yet, according to data gathered about the experiences of 31 nonprofit organizations, this assumption about the evaluation practices of nonprofits rarely holds true. Rather, other organizational theories, such as agency theory, institutional theory, resource dependence theory, and stewardship theory, which make different assumptions about how organizations operate and how managers behave, provide a more accurate description of why nonprofits engage in evaluation and how they use evaluation information. The findings from this study are important because they help to identify strategies that would encourage nonprofit organizations to use evaluation in more productive and meaningful ways.