How should your organization approach evaluation? Should you build internal capacity, hire a consultant, partner with a full-service evaluation firm, or manage evaluation with existing staff? The answer depends on far more than budget alone.
The Evaluation Decision Guide provides a practical framework to help nonprofit and social impact leaders select an evaluation model that aligns with their organization’s capacity, goals, and long-term vision. Rather than prescribing a single “best” approach, the guide walks leadership teams through the critical factors that influence successful evaluation, including staffing, expertise, organizational culture, leadership readiness, project management capacity, and available resources.
The guide introduces four common evaluation models, outlining the strengths, trade-offs, and ideal use cases for each:
- Building internal evaluation capacity
- Engaging independent consultants
- Partnering with a full-service evaluation firm
- Using a DIY or minimalist approach for basic reporting and compliance
To support decision-making, the resource also includes an Evaluation Decision Quiz that helps organizations assess their current capacity and identify which evaluation model may be the best fit. The accompanying scoring guide explains what each result means, while encouraging organizations to recognize that hybrid approaches and evolving needs are both common and expected.
This resource is particularly useful for:
- Executive directors and leadership teams
- Nonprofits preparing for organizational growth or new funding
- Organizations reassessing their current evaluation approach
- Boards and funders discussing long-term evaluation capacity
- Teams seeking to align evaluation strategy with organizational learning and sustainability
By focusing on alignment rather than perfection, this guide helps organizations make thoughtful evaluation decisions that strengthen accountability, build internal capacity over time, and create a stronger foundation for learning, decision-making, and long-term impact.
