These slides are from a session presented at the November 12-13 "Hacking Social Impact: Unconference" with a spotlight social entrepreneurship, impact investment. This session discussed assessing organizations capacity from the perspective of my work as a volunteer partner with Social Venture Partners Portland. For more on the conference http://socialventuresociety.org/unconference/

1. ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY ASSESSMENT TOOL
THINKING DEEPLY ABOUT CAPACITY
Mark P. Fulop, MA, MPH
mark@facilitationprocess.com

2. Welcome & Introduction
• Why Are You Here? -challenges, opportunities, ideas?
• Ground we will cover
• Define & Overview Capacity Building
• Introduce the Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool 1.0
• Work in small groups with the Tool
• Discuss the strengths and Weaknesses of the Tool.

3. 3
What is Organizational Capacity Building?
The development of core skills, management
practices, strategies, and systems to enhance an
organization’s effectiveness, sustainability and
ability to fulfill its mission.
3

4. Why Capacity Building is Important
Well-managed nonprofits with strong internal systems are more
likely to achieve greater impact because they can:
 be financially stable
 retain key staff
 have strong external leadership of the organization
 have capable, engaged board members who carry out
their fiduciary role
 be adaptive to changes in the landscape, funding climate
or sector
 have a culture of reflection and planning
 be committed to results because they have the
evaluation capacity to monitor performance
4

5. 5
The SVP Capacity Assessment Tool
• A self-assessment instrument that helps nonprofits identify
capacity strengths and challenges and establish capacity
building goals.
• Primarily a diagnostic and learning tool.
• Provides a useful framework for measuring growth in
organizational capacity over time.
• Serves as a baseline for current skills and knowledge and
helps set priorities for improvement projects.
• Jointly developed by McKinsey & Co. and SVP; adopted
by several SVP affiliates.
5

6. 6
Organizational Capacity Assessment Domains
1. Financial Management
2. Fund Development
3. Information Technology
4. Marketing & Communications
5. Program Design & Evaluation
6. Human Resources
7. Mission, Vision, Strategy & Planning
8. Legal Affairs
9. Leadership Development
10. Board Governance
6

7. 7
How to approach using the Tool
1. Goal is consensus on organization’s needs; no right/wrong
answers.
2. Investee participants score each area independently in
advance.
3. Team facilitates a meeting to agree on composite score for
each assessment area.
4. Next step is to define projects that relate to the priorities
on capacity building.
7

8. Highlights of Human Services
Consolidated Report
• Stronger Areas:
• Mission & Vision
• Program Design & Evaluation
• CEO/ED/Senior Management Team Leadership
• Weaker Areas:
• Information Technology
• Fund Development
• Legal Affairs (lower scores ok, have what need)
• Financial Management
8

9. Human Services OCAT Session
• 3 Hour session facilitated by SVPP with 9 Human Services
participants
• If you were king/queen what is the 1 thing you would change
about Human Services?
• Funding Diversity, security, endowment, space
• Solidify Programs & ways to communicate successes with strong
metrics
• Marketing & Communication strategy
• Strong partnership & collaboration with similar organizations
9

10. 10
Top Skills Required to Flourish in the Future
1. Strategic Long Range Planning & Vision
2. Business Acumen
3. Metrics for story to help communicate
organization’s success & attract donors
4. Development & Marketing strategy &
implementation
5. Outreach (broadly defined)
6. Program Replication Model
10

11. 11
Human Services Urgent Priorities
Based on review of the data & the discussions these are
the priorities
• Long Range Strategic Planning
• BOD development
• Marketing & Communication Strategy
• Fund Raising & Diversity
11

12. Resources
• Social Venture Partners Portland
http://www.svpportland.org
• Venture Philanthropy Partners
http://www.vppartners.org/learning/mckinsey-vpp-ocat
• Mckinsey & Company OCAT Website
http://ocat.mckinseyonsociety.com
• Comparison of Assessment Tools
http://lfleadership.com/files/Resources%20for%20Organizational%20Self-Assessment.pdf

13. Facilitation & Process, LLC is a consulting firm based in Portland, Oregon.
With Facilitation & Process, you are not our client but rather we are your
partner in strategy, performance improvement and success. We design
customized approaches that are tailored to your needs. Organizations that
benefit most from working with us are those who are tired of the same old
solutions and are ready for the fresh, imaginative and objective. We help you
think about your organizational context and the larger community ecosystem
in which you operate. We help you think systemically, systematically with a
focus on the long view.
To help you create solutions, we offer a range of supporting services
including performance assessments, facilitation, strategic, capacity, business
& social impact planning, board & staff development and retreats, and
developing meaningful community engagement.
Contact us for a free initial consultation Mark P. Fulop, MA, MPH
mark@facilitationprocess.com
(503) 928-4082
http://www.facilitationprocess.com