Public Administration Commons^™

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Lost Causal: Debunking Myths About Causal Analysis In Philanthropy – With 2024 Prologue, Jewlya Lynn, Sarah Stachowiak, Julia Coffman

The Foundation Review

Editor’s Note: This article, first published in print and online in 2022, has been republished by The Foundation Review with minor updates.

What if philanthropic evaluations told us that changes in the world had occurred, as well as how and why they occurred, including whether what foundations funded and grantees did contributed to those changes? What if evaluations made change pathways more visible, tested hypotheses and assumptions, and generated new insights based on what happened in the “black box” of systems change strategies? This type of learning comes from causal analysis — inquiry that explores cause-and-effect relationships.

Yet currently in …

Tfr 16.1 Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Goal-Free Evaluation: An Orientation For Foundations’ Evaluations – Updated 2024, Brandon W. Youker, Allyssa Ballard

The Foundation Review

Editor’s Note: This article, first published in print and online in 2014, has been revised for The Foundation Review with substantive additions, new examples, and minor updates.

Goal-free evaluation is a model in which official or stated program goals and objectives are unknown by the evaluator, serving as a counter to assessing impact solely according to goal achievement. Foundation-supported program evaluation, however, has historically focused on goal attainment as intuitively and inextricably linked to evaluation.

This focus has persisted despite the fact that goal-free product evaluations have been a norm for more than 75 years. Yet persuading funders to consider …

Systems Thinking For Social Change: A Practical Guide To Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, And Achieving Lasting Results, Hilda Vega

The Foundation Review

Editor’s Note: This article, first published in print and online in 2015, has been republished by The Foundation Review with minor updates.

Passing In The Dark: Making Visible Philanthropy’S Hidden And Conflicting Mental Models For Systems Change, Jewlya Lynn, Julia Coffman

The Foundation Review

While the need for philanthropy to focus on systems change as a way to scale and sustain impact is now widely accepted, we see the sector largely failing to recognize that there are different mental models for how to change systems. Sometimes the approaches foundations use are based on competing mental models or models that are not a good fit for the systems, problems, strategies, or practices they are using.

We see two mental models for systems change being used in philanthropy: systems dynamics and systems emergence. Strategies that use the systems-dynamics mental model aim at points of high leverage …

The Soft Stuff Doesn’T Have To Be Hard: Foundation Investments In Grantee Workers Are Necessary, Valuable, And Measurable – With 2024 Prologue, Rusty M. Stahl

The Foundation Review

Editor’s Note: This article, first published in print and online in 2022, has been republished by The Foundation Review with minor updates.

There is an urgent need for funder investments in the ability of grantee nonprofit organizations to support their staff. Such investments, when done well, can yield significant value for individuals, organizations, and fields of work or movements. Furthermore, the value of these investments can be evaluated and communicated.

This article explores the reasons for and implications of the inadequate response by funders, offers a path forward for designing investments in grantee staff, and documents how funders can capture …

A Foundation’S Theory Of Philanthropy: What It Is, What It Provides, How To Do It – With 2024 Prologue, Michael Quinn Patton, Nathaniel Foote, James Radner

The Foundation Review

Editor’s Note: This article, first published in print and online in 2015, has been republished by The Foundation Review with minor updates.

This article argues that philanthropic endeavors should be undergirded by a theory of philanthropy. Articulating a theory of philanthropy is a way for a foundation to make explicit what is often only implicit, thereby enabling internal and external actors to pose and resolve significant questions, understand and play important roles more fully and effectively, and improve performance by enhancing alignment across complex systems.

A theory of philanthropy articulates how and why a foundation will use its resources to …

The Hidden Struggle: Challenges Older Women Face In Nevada, Annie Vong

Student Research

In 2020, almost one in five Nevadans was over the age of 65.[1] However, within this age group, women outnumber men due to longer life expectancies[2] and migration patterns. Women over 65 years of age make up an estimated 18.1% of the female population in Nevada.[3] Of the male population in Nevada, 15.1% are over 65 years of age.[4] Older women are less likely to be married, are less likely to have completed a bachelor’s degree, are more likely to drop out of the labor force, and are more likely to be living in poverty in …

Critical Success Factors Of Agile Innovation Management In The Government Of Palu Municipality In Central Sulawesi Province, Rahmawati Halim Rhm, Mashuri H. Tahili Mht

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

Agile governance plays a crucial role in developing agile innovation to enhance performance in Palu Municipality. This study examines the critical success factors of agile innovation management (AIM) in the government of Palu Municipality. This study employed an exploratory survey and a quantitative method to collect data through questionnaires, with analysis conducted using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method. The findings identify end-user involvement, technology development, organizational innovation, and agile methodology for service innovation as crucial success elements in achieving effective AIM

The Shift In The Roles Of Local Emergency Management Agencies In The Planning And Response To Civil Unrest, Howard Ray Simons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Local government's response to civil unrest has continually shown a concerning level of unpreparedness and how quickly inundated local government becomes during a response to civil unrest. The theoretical framework used for this study is knowledge management due to its ability to be used in different disciplines like emergency management, safety, and business. This framework is used to get all stakeholders to work in concert to attain strategically planned goals. The research question explored how the local emergency manager's knowledge and experience directly impacted strategic planning, response, and community relations during a civil unrest event? The research design was a …

The Urgency Of Administrative Reform In E-Government-Based Recruitment Of General Elections Commission Members In Bali Province, Ni Wayan Widhiasthini, Ni Kadek Winda Yanti, Nyoman Sri Subawa, Made Srinitha Millinia Utami

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

This study aims to explore the role of information technology, particularly the application of e-government, in the recruitment process for General Elections Commission (KPU) members, focusing on administrative reform in Bali. It emphasizes the optimization of administrative reform through an e-government-based recruitment system. Utilizing a qualitative research framework, this study employed a descriptive approach with a post-positivist perspective. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis, followed by systematic stages of data reduction, presentation, and conclusion drawing. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from primary and secondary sources and validated through source triangulation and determination. Informants were purposively …

Raven Sentry: Employing Ai For Indications And Warnings In Afghanistan, Thomas W. Spahr

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article examines Raven Sentry, a project that employed artificial intelligence to provide advance warning of insurgent attacks in Afghanistan. During 2019 and 2020, the Resolute Support Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (J2) benefited from a command culture open to innovation, the urgency created by the US drawdown, and a uniquely talented group of personnel that, aided by commercial sector experts, built an AI system that helped predict attacks. The war’s end cut Raven Sentry short, but the experience provides important lessons on AI and the conditions necessary for successful innovation.

Contributor Guidelines, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

The Combat Path: Sustaining Mental Readiness In Ukrainian Soldiers, Oleh Hukovskyy, James C. West, Joshua C. Morganstein, Eugene F. Augusterfer, David M. Benedek, Oleg Boyko, Robert J. Ursano, Amy B. Adler

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

In Ukraine, soldiers’ psychological resilience is of paramount concern. Therefore, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have developed a new intervention, Combat Path Debriefing, designed to address combat stress and promote unit readiness for soldiers returning to combat. This article outlines the components of Combat Path Debriefing and discusses how it is rooted in principles of combat and operational stress control and the unique characteristics of Ukrainian military life. This perspective offers US and allied leaders real-world experience that can inform future efforts to support soldiers’ mental health and combat performance.

From The Editor In Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Summer 2024 issue of Parameters. We open this issue with a special “In Memoriam” by General Charles A. Flynn, Commander US Army Pacific, honoring the life and legacies of our director and consummate colleague, Carol V. Evans. We dedicate this issue to her. General Flynn’s memoriam is followed by an In Focus commentary on China’s Belt and Road Initiative. We then feature three forums covering the Russia-Ukraine War, the Middle East, and Professional Development. This issue also contains special essays on the role of professional writing, the US Army War College’s Civil-Military Relations Center, …

The Dynamics Of Us Retrenchment In The Middle East, Paul K. Macdonald, Joseph M. Parent

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues that conditions favor American retrenchment from the Middle East because the United States can shift burdens to capable states in the region, there are few areas where US commitments are interdependent, and the local conquest calculus favors defense. Forward military deployments do not positively influence potential threats in the Middle East, and maintaining deployments there will detract from meeting challenges from China. Through comparisons to prior cases of great-power ordinal decline, this article puts America’s modest decline in historical perspective and finds that retrenchment policies will likely have positive consequences.

The Perceived Benefits Of Diversity Training And Governing Policy For Law Enforcement Agencies, Lance Isaiah Driskell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This research confronted a critical public administration challenge within a law enforcement agency: the absence of formal diversity training and policies. The study explored, from the perspective of officers, what the department should consider when developing future diversity training that can positively influence job performance, and from the perspective of officers, the policies or practices regarding diversity that would positively influence job performance. The study drew upon a conceptual framework, emphasizing the necessity of diversity training and its key components: why, who, what, and how. Employing a cross-sectional research design, quantitative data were gathered through surveys administered via SurveyMonkey to …

Crafting A Succession Process For A Nonprofit Organization: Exploring And Plotting The Creation Of A Succession Plan For The Chips Montgomery Foundation, Robert King

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In this case study, the phenomena of leadership loss and transition within a small nonprofit organization, which is a pivotal cycle impacting businesses of all sizes and types, was explored. The study underscored that employee turnover is an inevitable occurrence, influenced by a myriad of factors, leading to significant decisions on staff replacement and thereby shaping future organizational trajectories. Central to this investigation was the exploration of various organizational development theories, functionalism, and human resource planning, which provided a conceptual framework for understanding leadership transitions. Both for-profit and nonprofit entities grapple with leadership losses, yet nonprofits encounter distinct challenges necessitated …