European Conference on Strategic Philanthropy 2010

Parallel Sessions

A.                                                                                                                  Thursday 11 November 11.15-12.15

A1. Kellie Liket, ECSP                         Goededoelenmonitor.nl The premiere of the results of the Performance Prediction Scan – impact measurement on a predictive basis

The Performance Prediction Scan is a research project that has identified a set of criteria from academia and translated this into a practical questionnaire that forms the basis of the online search tool Goededoelenmonitor.nl (CIGD). In this workshop the results from non-profits in the Health sector are presented for the first time.

Is it harder for small non-profits to score high on the questionnaire? Is it easier to score high when you have concrete projects and programs as a non-profit organization, versus activities such as research and advocacy (lobby)? What does it mean when an organization scores low, and how can it implement the criteria in its organization to do better? All these questions and many more will be answered in this session.

Highly recommended for: Non-Profits, All types of funders (corporate, foundations, individual donors, philanthropist, government etc.)

A2. Frank Hubers, ECSP                     Using impact evaluations in international development

Development organizations have only limited recourses to help the poorest of the world. This means they will have to make choices on how to spend their funds most effectively. Rigorous evaluations can help NPO’s to make these choices, by providing them with information on what works and what doesn’t.

In this session we will show how development organizations can use impact evaluations strategically to improve their performance. As part of this we will show and discuss our current study about the impact of microfinance. During the session there will be time for discussion.

A3. Lucas Meijs, ECSP                        Hoe creëer je een vrijwilligersvriendelijke organisatie?

Veel nonprofit organisaties werken zowel met vrijwilligers als met beroepskrachten. In veel organisaties staat dit in een lange traditie, waardoor vrijwilligers en beroepskrachten min of meer harmonieus samenwerken. In andere organisaties is het werken met vrijwilligers een relatief nieuw fenomeen, in de perceptie van de beroepskrachten vaak als gevolg van externe factoren zoals bezuinigingen. Bovendien bestaan er veel vooroordelen tussen vrijwilligers en beroepskrachten onderling waardoor spanning kan staan op de relatie tussen de medewerkers.

In deze workshop bespreken we wederzijdse vooroordelen, barrières en mogelijkheden om de relatie tussen beroepskrachten en vrijwilligers beter te managen. De workshop is onder andere gebaseerd op een onderzoek naar de vrijwilligersvriendelijkheid van de politiekorpsen in Nederland. In de workshop wordt  gezamenlijk bekeken hoe en waar een organisatiecultuur opengebroken kan worden voor het werken met vrijwilligers.

A4. Sjef Ernes, Aqua for All               Alone you travel faster, together you get further

Aqua for All has built a track record in matching smart alliances in order to implement innovative programs on water & sanitation for the poor. Innovative not only in terms of water technology, expertise and connecting complementary partners. Also innovative in blending financial means, leverage of funds and creating win-win (win) situations. Working together however is complex, time consuming and it involves avoiding gaps in perception and expectations, intentions and agreements.

Achieving (SMART) results, outcome and impact requires co-creation with Southern partners. Capacity building is crucial for the long term sustainability of the program and involves investing in the people, the organization and the institutional environment. Is the Philanthropy sector willing to step in partnerships that involve all these aspects? In what kind of engagements?  Sjef Ernes, director of Aqua for All, will provide some examples of successful and inspiring partnerships.

Let’s travel together, then we get further! 

A5. Peter Frumkin                            Practicalities of grant making

Peter Frumkin, the internationally recognized expert, will talk about his experience with strategic grant making in the USA and Europe, partly based on his experiences resulting from the research for his book The Essence of Strategic Giving: A Practical Guide for Donors and Fundraisers (University of Chicago Press) which also will be given to all conference participants. There will be room for questions and discussion.

B.                                                                                                                  Thursday 11 November 15.00-16.00

B1. Dinand Webbink, ECSP               Impact evaluation: new methods and applications for estimating causal effects

In this session professor Policy Evaluation, Dinand Webbink will present and work out a number of examples of impact evaluation. He will go into the technicalities of these methods and discuss the different factors that are of importance for a good impact measurement system.

B2. Kellie Liket, ECSP                         Comparability, comprehension and practicality in Impact Measurement: The case of the corporate citizenship/philanthropy program

In this session we move beyond the ‘why’ of impact measurement, and towards the ‘how’. There is a large and often confusing landscape of impact measurement tools and methods, such as SROI, CHAMP, Balance Scorecard and so on. This workshop will help you navigate your way through them by addressing what is required to truly measure impact (as opposed to output or outcome) and how you can practically go about measuring the impact of a project. It will be illustrated that it all comes down to finding a balance between three things; comparability, comprehension and practicality.

Finding this balance will be illustrated by a case study, where an impact measurement is performed on a corporate citizenship/philanthropy program that involves four projects of four different charities. Each time, the balance is sought between the comparability, comprehension and practicality, as the ‘blueprints’ of the suitable tools and methods are applied in practice. The compromises one makes in practice when measuring impact will clearly be illustrated with a focus on both the costs and benefits.

Highly recommended for: all organizations interested in impact measurement – Corporate

B3. Peter Persoon,Villa Pardoes     Bestuursvernieuwing in de praktijk

Bij Villa Pardoes zijn een aantal grootscheepse veranderingen in de bestuursstructuur doorgevoerd sinds de heer Persoon de leiding heeft overgenomen. Dit had mede te maken met de samenvoeging van twee aparte stichtingen die zich met respectievelijk de fondsenwerving en de uitvoering van de kinderkampen bezighielden.  Hier wordt duidelijk dat de bestuurs- en organisatiestructuren van belang zijn voor het functioneren van een non-profit organisatie.

B4. Lonneke Roza, ECSP                    Cooperating with companies: what’s in it for your employees?

Een van de nieuwe strategieën voor filantropische organisaties om aan middelen te komen is samenwerken met bedrijven, bijvoorbeeld door middel van werknemersvrijwilligerswerk. Hierbij komen werknemers van bedrijven vrijwilligerswerk doen bij de nonprofit organisatie. Er is relatief veel bekend over de impact die deze activiteiten hebben op het bedrijf en de werknemers  van het bedrijf. Ook loopt er onderzoek naar de effecten op de doelgroep van de nonprofit organisatie.

Het te presenteren startende onderzoek kijkt vanuit het perspectief van de medewerkers van nonprofit organisatie naar de toegevoegde waarde van werknemersvrijwilligerswerk. Voelen die medewerkers zich erkend doordat ‘corporate’ mensen hun werkveld binnen komen of juist niet? Vindt er nuttige kennis uitwisseling plaats? Is het de moeite waard?

Met de deelnemers zal enerzijds de onderzoekopzet, aannames en huidige kennis besproken worden. Anderzijds wordt de deelnemers gevraagd welke thema’s, onderwerpen en methoden nodig zijn om het onderzoek zowel academisch als praktisch relevant te maken.

B5. Inne ten Have, APOPO              Rats and international grants

Inne ten Have will give some background information on APOPO, an NPO based in Tanzania that trains rats to help detect landmines and tubeculosis, and also provide their experience with regard to the grant making and fundraising for this organization in the USA and Europe.

C.                                                                                                                  Friday 11 November 11.00-12.00

C1. Karen Maas, ECSP                                  Roundtable on Impact Measurement

In this roundtable the questions on how, why and to what extent Impact Measurement should be undertaken are discussed. With different people from the sector and experts on impact the practicalities and the pro’s and con’s of impact measurement will come to the table.

C2. Pushpika Vishwanathan, ECSP Governance in Non-Profit Organizations

ECSP is commencing a new research project on governance in non-profit organizations. Our ultimate aim is to develop a typology that explains the prevalence of the different types of non-profit organizations in The Netherlands. By studying non-profit organizations in terms of their governance structures we hope to obtain a better understanding of why they exist, what their challenges are, and how their organizational structures enable them to overcome these challenges and achieve their purposes.

During this highly interactive session we tackle two fundamental questions; 1) what are some of the defining characteristics of non-profit organizations? And 2) What are typical governance challenges faced by non-profit organizations? After a brief introduction to this topic, participants get a chance to share their experience and brainstorm together about governance challenges and their potential solutions. This in turn will be used as input in setting up our research project.

C3. Lucas Meijs,ECSP                                    Volunteer management     

In bijna alle (westerse) samenlevingen maken (civil society) beleidsmakers zich zorgen om de toekomst van het vrijwilligerspotentieel van de samenleving. Als gevolg worden frequent projecten opgezet en gefinancierd die als doel hebben het vergroten van de vrijwillige inzet. Het vrijwilligerspotentieel van een samenleving is een formule van bereidheid, beschikbaarheid en geschiktheid van mensen, organisaties en  gemeenschappen voor vrijwilligerswerk. In het college wordt een theoretisch kader gegeven waarin deze projecten ontwikkeld zouden kunnen worden.

Het theoretisch kader analyseert verschillende praktijkprojecten die gericht zijn op het bevorderen van vrijwilligerswerk, zoals werknemersvrijwilligerswerk, maatschappelijke stage, NL doet, Vakantievrijwiligerswerk, geplande zelfwerkzaamheden en Family-volunteering, op hun achterliggende ratio. Er zijn verschillende bouwstenen die gebruikt kunnen worden voor effectief beleid om het vrijwilligerspotentieel te kunnen verhogen, zoals normatieve druk, functionele aanpassing, derde partij betrokkenheid, add-on systemen en involved learning.

C4. Pamala Wiepking,ECSP             Collaboration is valuable – but rare. Why?         

In the foundation world collaboration is fashionable. Or at least, talking about collaboration is fashionable. Foundations exhort themselves, and each other, to collaborate, to form partnerships and alliances, and thereby achieve more than they can by acting on their own. Given the interest in collaboration, is is surprising to see so little actual collaboration between foundations. Why do foundations refrain from working together to achieve goals? In this workshop we will discuss collaboration successes and failures of participants, examine why some collaborations are more successful than others and how we can stimulate more successful collaborations.

C5. David Carrington, consultant   A European view on strategic grant making