Inside the Black Box - Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

Success Factors: Workforce
Provider Organizations
While each of the six organizations that participated in this study operate in somewhat different ways,
they collectively demonstrated a commitment to their mission, flexibility and responsiveness in
organizational decision making, meaningful roles for staff and leadership, plans for growth, and
diversified funding. These factors, more than others at the organization level, critically impact successful
participant outcomes and are influential in the success of these organizations. The organizations in this
study measure various aspects of their internal organizational processes, services, and resources in order
to better manage their organization and to make adjustments to improve their services.
Flexibility in Service Delivery and Funding
Strong Commitment to Mission
Organizations must demonstrate flexibility in adapting to their environment by embracing the innovation
necessary to respond to both a changing market and the changing needs of their participants and partners,
while continuing to serve their clients in accordance with their mission. The individual organizations’
missions have several common themes. 7 These include antipoverty goals achieved through selfsufficiency,
the improvement and empowerment of the individual, and family and community
considerations.
Our goal is not to train people. Our goal is to get them started in a career that’s going to change their
life economically.
Almost all of the organizations touch on all three of these themes, which reflect their commitments to
broad, long-lasting, and substantive impact.
7 Organizations’ missions can be found in Appendix A.
Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago 41