This paper examines the factors that influence the evaluation practices of American philanthropic foundations, using an institutional theory framework. To this end, it explores the literature, contributed by both the academic community and esteemed philanthropic practitioners, that informs understanding of organizational dynamics in general and evaluation practices in particular. From this literature emerged several propositions regarding the factors that influence evaluation practices. As part of this study, these propositions were explored through key informant interviews with representatives from eight foundations headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Through this approach, this paper contributes to the field by integrating the views of academic theorists, philanthropic thought leaders, and current practitioners. Relative to evaluation practices, the most striking findings were the importance of the grantee-funder relationship, the influence of grantees, and the impact of organizational lifecycle. These insights have several implications for policy-makers and point to opportunities for further research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-02032011-142507 |
| Date | 28 June 2011 |
| Creators | Scherer, Shelley Christine |
| Contributors | Kevin Kearns, Kathleen Buechel, David Miller, Angela Foster Reynolds |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-02032011-142507/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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