Delivering Training and Technical Assistance - Administration for ...

Each TA provider has its own assessment methods. Listed below are several strategies for assessing anorganization. Using the strategies below in a collaborative effort with the beneficiary organization will yieldthe most accurate results, result in the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data, help identifystrengths of an organization in addition to organizational gaps, and build trust and accountability betweenthe TA provider and beneficiary organization.Organizational Capacity Assessment. An assessment of the organization’s capacity is the most basicelement of an organizational assessment. This is often completed as a self-assessment by one or more person(s)within the beneficiary organization, including the executive director, program director, development director,and board chair. This tool will help the TA provider identify a baseline performance of the beneficiaryorganization and provide initial data needed to measure progress through the TA engagement. There areseveral self-assessments that exist and are ready for use, or you can create your own based on the TA servicesyou are able to provide. A sample self-assessment is included in the appendices.Document Review. The TA provider can ask the beneficiary organization to make a host of documentsavailable for review, allowing the TA provider to conduct its own capacity review and learn about the systemsand processes in place within the beneficiary organization. A sample list of documents to review is providedin the appendices.Site Visit. By visiting the site, the TA provider can see the administrative offices of the beneficiaryorganization, identify the program(s) and clients of the organization, and meet with key staff members ofthe organization. This is a great opportunity to have informal conversations about the daily operations of theorganization and make observations about organizational capacity.Assessment Interview. If the beneficiary organization lacks organizational awareness, the assessment canbecome skewed. Capacity builders often refer to this as “you don’t know what you don’t know.” To addressorganizational awareness issues, the TA provider can conduct a structured assessment interview to assist indetermining the current level of organizational capacity.Leadership Assessment. Because the success of the TA engagement is so dependent on the ability, skills, andattitude of the organization’s leadership, a TA provider should understand how to best support and coach theapplicable individuals. This can be done through a formal assessment, a quick checklist of questions, or aninformal assessment.The provision of TA is about meeting an organization “where it’s at.” With this, the TA provider must createan assessment process that accounts for such factors as the organization’s size, culture, and leadership. If youare working with an emerging organization that has little in place to assess, start by asking some criticaldefining questions about who they are, what they want to do, and what they want to become.If the TA engagement will continue for a long period of time, address several issues, or demand intensiveamounts of time from organizational leadership or the TA provider, it is important to end the analysis phaseand launch the next phase with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and/or a work plan identifyingeach TA action, method of delivery, and person responsible. There is more information about MOUs andwork plans in the next section.ImplementFrom analysis, you will launch into the implementation phase, when you actually provide the TA.At the onset of the implementation phase, it is important to outline a TA engagement through an MOUor work plan. This will ensure that everyone is operating with the same plan and priorities and that the TAprovider has outlined what can realistically be accomplished through the TA engagement. The MOU and/or16