memorandum
to:
/Suat Kurdas, Manager of Department of Learning Design & research Development
from:
/Zahara Alam, Nonprofit Management Consultant
subject:
/Retention, performance measurement, and collaboration
date:
/March 12, 2015
The Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey (TEGV) is a great organization that provides after school enrichment programs for low-income children between the ages of 7 to 16 and promotes volunteerism (Laidler-Kylander &Varley, 2014). Through regular performance and program assessment, TEGV is able to fix and or eliminate programs. Carrying out regular assessment is a great practice that many nonprofits struggle with. However, even with assessments being carried out regularly, it is at times difficult to capture all measurable impacts. This memo will analyze the current issues TEGV is facing, which are the low retention rates of volunteers, sustaining and improving current programs, and whether or not it is worth the cost to do a study of TEGV alums and another study with ERG. Furthermore, it will briefly discuss the government failure and theory of altruism, and then further examine performance measurement and the possibility of capacity building.
TEGV believes that to ensure Turkey’s economic rise, they must improve their education system (Laidler-Kylander &Varley, 2014, p.2). The organization focuses on programs where children can work on developing “skills, knowledge and attitudes supporting their development as rational, responsible, self confident, peace loving, inquisitive, cognizant, creative individuals, who are against any kind of discrimination, [and] respect diversity” (Laidler-Kylander &Varley, 2014, p.2). They have been able to fulfill their mission by providing quality after school programs for low-income students by constantly monitoring the performance of their programs. Though their primary aim is to help low-income children, they also focus on promoting volunteerism. By becoming a volunteer-based foundation, they have been able to build relationships with universities and encourage young adults to give back to their community (p.2). They want volunteers to be positively affected by their experience at TEGV. Unfortunately, TEGV has not been able to benefit from investing in their volunteers because there is a high turnover rate (p.7). In addition, there has been a concern of sustaining and improving the quality of their programs. Lastly, it has been questioned whether all the studies they are conducting is worth the money, especially when these funds can be spent on services for the children.
Government Failure
TEGV is gap filler in the education department for Turkey. They are able to focus on local communities where government and market is not able to do so. They are able to provide enriching after school programs for low income students while promoting volunteerism. Volunteerism is an issue that the country has not been able to tackle. As stated by Laidler-Kylander &Varley (2014), Turkey has a low rate of volunteers when comparing with other countries. Worth (2014) discussed that government failure does not “imply that government is incompetent, but rather that there are political, structural, and systemic reasons that may prevent the government from filling the gaps…”(p. 50). Many of Turkey citizens were not interested in social norms. TEGV took this as an opportunity to promote, recruit, train, and support new volunteers (Laidler-Kylander &Varley, 2014, p.7). TEGV has been able to recruit their local officials and promote volunteerism. To reverse distressing social trends, they wanted to create a sense of common purpose and empathy amongst young adults (p. 7).
Theory of Altruism
Worth (2014) explains the theory of altruism as a focus on “those who supply the funds to support the works of nonprofits” (p.52). TEGV funds and design studies that not only help their organizations but other local nonprofits. They conducted a study on volunteerism which compares TEGV volunteers with non-TEGV volunteers and learned that TEGV volunteers has a greater trust in NGOs and has more positive self- perception. Though responses from TEGV volunteers were positive about the program, they still had a high turnover rates. Furthermore, volunteers personal satisfaction may seem selfish, as Sargeant, Shang and Associates (2010) states “ some people do give for self-interested reasons, …to gain self esteem, to atone for past personal failings, to gain recognition [etc]…but empathy and personal values also play role, and giving is significantly affected by social norms” (as cited in Worth, 2014, p.52). They found the volunteers were making improvements in their professional life, were respected and looked as role models, and noticed an increase in communication and friendship with other volunteers (Laidler-Kylander &Varley, 2014, p.8). Though the volunteers do not fund the nonprofit, they do support it, and TEGV is an organization that is willing to take action to ensure they are happy and are willing to stay for a longer term.
Recommendation for Retention of Volunteers
However, to improve and sustain current programs, it is recommended that the nonprofit provide incentives or awards for the volunteers. Volunteers are already satisfied with their work, however that is not keeping them at TEGV. Perhaps hire few of the volunteers who can look after the program sites and be able to properly administer the programs. A more exclusive training would be required. Constantly changing volunteers is not efficient. TEGV is investing in their volunteers, however they must truly invest in them by providing a job, stipend, or tuition reimbursement if they want to keep them on board longer. Motivation to rise within the non-profit sector must be encouraged.
Measuring Performance
TEGV has an ongoing practice of measuring performance by collecting and analyzing internal data to track the effectiveness of its programs. By creating its own Department of Learning Design & Research Development TEGV has already taken a step forward in measuring both performance management and program evaluation. TEGV programs have been effective based on the data they have collected, however, according to Worth (2014) “being effective may be necessary to be high performing, but it is not necessarily sufficient” (p.135). It is important to TEGV to be efficient with its resources. Kelly (1998) defines efficiency as “a measure of the proportion of resources used to produce outputs or attain inputs-cost ratios” (as cited in Worth, 2014, p. 135). To sustain and improve its programs, they should use the logic model for program evaluation. For each of the programs it is important to look at the inputs such as staff, money, facilities, and other resources. Then determine what type of activities the program is going to facilitate. This will then help measure the outputs such as number of volunteers serving, number of after school classes, and number of materials created and distributed. Finally, the Department of Learning Design & Research Development can measure the outcomes. TEGV may already follow a similar model, but they must measure the efficiency of their programs. Being more efficient will help TEGV to sustain and improve their current programs.
Potential of Capacity Building
Worth (2014) explains capacity building as “efforts that are undertaken to strengthen the organization in order to make it more effective in achieving its mission” (p. 205). TEGV has an option to collaborate with Education Reform Initiative (ERG) for a project that is “initiated by the Istanbul Policy Center at Sabanci University, to study the impact of a controversial set of educational reforms, enacted by the Turkish government in 2012” (Laidler-Kylander &Varley, 2014, p.11). This may seem like a great opportunity for TEGV to participate in since they will be able evaluate primary school students on a national level. Furthermore, it may increase efficiency and effectiveness of educational programs in the long run. However, this collaboration may negatively impact TEGV. Not only will their focus drift away from their mission, it will be costly. Such studies take many years to perfect. Also, Worth (2014) stated that if a partnership does not work out, it would be costly as well. Also, there will be unforeseen obstacles.
It will be beneficial to study TECG alums to look back at the impact they had on their lives. This may provide a deeper understanding of the impacts the program has on these children and where they can improve. At this time, it would be worth spending funds on this particular study, as it will have a long-term impact for their organization.
Recommendations
As mentioned previously that improving the retention rates of volunteers could be improved through incentives and motivation. By doing so, programs will run more efficiently. Converting few volunteers as a full time staff will help sustain and improve the projects. Also, the cost of training new volunteers constantly will decrease. Administering programs will be more uniformed in each of the locations.
Furthermore, TEGV has focused on the effectiveness of their programs; however, it is essential to look into the efficiency of the program. Evaluating resource allocation amongst the programs will help increase efficiency. Retaining volunteers will also improve efficiency.
Lastly, it is recommended to partake on TEGV alums study to understand the impact of the program. However, at this time, it is not advisable to collaborate with (ERG). Though it may be beneficial in the long term, there are more risks involved. Such as shift of focus from the programs and loss of resources that can be used to towards the programs. TEGV is a strong NGO that does not really require for them to partner with ERG at this time. Although it might improve their partnership with the government and the education on a national level, it should be postponed until Department of Learning Design & Research Development is more stable and fully developed.
Conclusion
TEGV is a model NGO. The leadership team is aware that they must monitor their programs and their performance to understand what is working and what is not. They are also aware of obstacles they are coming across but are actively looking into how to improve their program. Due to government failure and the act of altruism, TEGV has been able to be successful. Current obstacles that are being faced such as volunteer retention, sustaining and improving current projects, and debating if they should partake on two big studies can be solved through looking into the recommendations that were made in this memo. Recommendations such as building incentives for volunteers, following the logic model and measuring efficiency, and understanding the pros and cons of collaboration will help TEGV improve in the long run.
References
Laidler-Kylander, N. & Varley, P. (2014). Measured Approach: TEGV Assesses its Performance
& Impact on Educational Enrichment Programs. Harvard Kennedy School Product # KS1042-PDF-ENG. Cambridge, MA: President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Worth, M. (2014). Nonprofit Management: Principles and Practice. Third Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications.
Alam
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