Analyzing the effectiveness of a Kenyan NGO with the HPO Framework

Despite rapid growth in the nongovernment organization (NGO) sector in Africa, NGOs struggle to perform as effectively as their beneficiaries and donors would like. Previous research has identified many techniques for improving performance in the NGO context, but none has presented a holistic framework for addressing all the attributes of an effective NGO. To fill this gap, the leaders of a Kenyan NGO agreed to participate in a study of whether the HPO Framework, a scientifically validated technique to evaluate performance and elicit recommendations to transform an organization into a high‐performance organization, could be used to evaluate and improve the NGO's performance. Drawing on quantitative data and qualitative insight gleaned from interviews with internal staff and external stakeholders, the study found that the HPO Framework is a useful diagnostic tool in a nongovernment context to evaluate the current status of an NGO and elicit recommendations for improvement. Although the NGO's managers found the HPO Framework to be effective in measuring its organizational abilities, they did not immediately implement the proposed recommendations. This led to significant difficulties in the organization. As a result of stakeholder concerns, new managers were brought in to follow‐up on the HPO recommendations.