ERIC Number: ED178608
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1979-Apr
Pages: 30
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Evaluation and Private Philanthropy: View from a Corporation.
Roser, Hal
The role of evaluation in the profit and loss sector of American economy differs from its role in the nonprofit sector. Since corporate industry and private foundations contribute approximately 4.5 billion dollars to help finance the ninety-billion dollar private nonprofit sector, sound planning and evaluation activities are essential to maintain the quality and independence of nonprofit institutions' activities. Planning and evaluation might take place in five stages: (1) research designed to improve our understanding of the world; (2) definition of values and identification of goals; (3) development of policies, projects, and programs to achieve these goals; (4) implementation of these programs; and (5) summative evaluation. Some of the differences between private businesses and nonprofit institutions occur because the primary constituencies of a business--its customers and stockholders--are external to the business; and because external regulatory agencies and consumer organizations scrutinize private industry. Internally-conducted evaluations of a private business demonstrate its orientation toward the future. Private, as compared to nonprofit institutions, are more interested in evaluating their competitors, in preliminary testing of ideas, and in cost effectiveness analysis. Private institutions may also experience greater internal consistency in goals than an agency which is regulated externally. (GDC)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (63rd, San Francisco, California, April 8-12, 1979)