Measuring organizational development: Art or science

Background: Existing metrics to evaluate organizational development are most often subjective, qualitative, and do not allow results to be compared over time. As funds for capacity building form an increasing proportion of development assistance, there is mounting demand from donors and NGOs on how to measure and prioritize capacity building interventions, and target resources for organizational development most effectively.

Methods: The Measuring Organizational Development and Effectiveness (MODE) tool was developed to enable a quantifiable and replicable assessment of organizational development. The MODE tool was piloted in India in 2011 with three NGOs. A longitudinal study (2012-14) was designed to apply to the tool annually in 60 NGOs serving orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Ethiopia. 11 organizational domains were defined and scored using specific indicators. Data was collected during a three-hour assessment through staff surveys, key informant interviews and a review of organizational documents and policies.

Results: Organizations in Ethiopia scored highly in financial management, mission and quality management. Logistics management, information management, and linkages and communication were weak. Annual budget, organizational age, staff size and donor diversity influenced organizational development.

Discussion: MODE is a quantitative instrument, which enables consistent, repeated assessment of organizational development. MODE enables NGOs to prioritize internal resources for capacity building and allows donors to evaluate the capacity building efforts of international organizations. In a resource constrained environment where local organizations are increasingly responsible for service delivery, measuring organizational development and capacity is essential to improve accountability and service delivery.