Evaluation in Nonprofit Organizations: An Empirical Analysis

Many factors influence the extent to which nonprofit organizations engage in evaluation. Drawing on organization theory, nonprofit scholarship, and public administration research, we propose a set of hypotheses concerning the interrelationships between organizational characteristics and various aspects of nonprofit evaluation. We test these hypotheses using combined data from an original national survey and IRS Forms 990. Analysis reveals that although higher levels of staff compensation support many aspects of evaluation, higher levels of executive compensation exert negative effects. Additionally, evaluation culture mediates the effects of several variables on evaluation rigor and frequency. Practical implications are discussed for scholars and practitioners.     

禁止核武器条约:接下来做什么？

核不扩散机制使得世界从1945年以后没有发生过核战争,而且帮助防止了核武器扩散至更多国家或流入恐怖组织手中。然而,当前围绕禁止核武器条约的态势,可能会分散国际社会对核不扩散机制的关注和努力,这是禁止核武器条约的反对者和怀疑者们所担心的。禁止核武器条约的讨论得到国际支持,主要是因为核武器国家未能在《不扩散核武器条约》框架下就核裁军显示出“诚意”。无核武器国家占据大多数,而其中的多数又不能接受核裁军没有进展的现状,也不愿意成为有核国家启动核战争决策的人质。此外,尽管促成禁核条约的种种关切合情合理,但令人担忧的是条约过于简单,从而缺少严格的核查以及强制遵约条款。因此,核武器国家可以单独或与其他核武器国家一道更加认真地履行核裁军义务,设计核裁军机制的范本需要解决禁核条约绕开的关键问题,并需要进行国际辩论,讨论何种条件下首先使用核武器是必要与正当的,才是消除禁核条约造成对立的出路所在。     

Whole of Government: the Solution to Managing Crises?

The frequency and severity of natural disasters has placed a clear emphasis on the role of governments in responding to these crises. During the past decade, disaster events have had a significant impact on the relevant communities as well as raising questions regarding the role of government and the bureaucratic coordination of planning and response processes. These events have placed a renewed focus on the ability of governments to plan, prepare, and respond in an effective way to crises. They have also tended to indicate that there remain serious challenges to government coordination and that crises create a unique series of challenges for the public sector. At the heart of understanding how governments respond to crises are notions of bureaucratic coordination. It has been suggested that joined‐up or whole of government arrangements may provide an appropriate means in which to approach crisis management. As a result a number of key themes emerge including the nature of crisis management, role of leadership, understanding coordination, impact of organisational culture, and the interactions between individuals and institutions. This paper will consider these issues and provide a review of the relevant literature, to understand the synergies that exist in connected responses to crises.