Around the Institute

Socially Conscious Social Networking / The State of Evaluation / Evidence and Policy

November 12, 2010  • Paul L. Sparks

Social Networking for Social Causes
Chris Hughes, Co-Founder of Facebook, recently announced the launch date of Jumo.com (Nov 30th) a Facebook-style site for social causes. Jumo will tailor content to individual users’ interests, as expressed on other social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.). Will Jumo be the next big thing in advocacy? We’ll see next month!

The State of Evaluation 2010
Ehren Reed and Johanna Morariu, Senior Associates of Innovation Network, just released the results of a national survey of non-profit organizations on evaluation practices. Among their findings: half of the organizations surveyed reported having a logic model or theory of change, 21% use professional evaluators, and quantitative methods are far more popular than qualitative approaches. Click here for the full report.

How Does Evidence Influence Policy Change?
This week the APEP took the show on the road to San Antonio, Texas for the annual American Evaluation Association conference. Lisa and David discussed how we track current or potential champions and influential actors who participate in CARE International’s Learning Tours on Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health.