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AbstractA form of self‐assessment, termed practitioner‐centered evaluation, is proposed for human services agencies. In contrast to assessment methods that may require an outside evaluator, this qualitative technique focuses on the informal theories of behavioral change that underlie a program‐as‐implemented. It takes into account interacting cause‐and‐effect relationships and relies on the ability of staff members to document success and failure in the context of their own theories. As a vehicle for identifying program elements that are effective in achieving behavioral change and other goals, practitioner‐centered evaluation can be the basis of franker, more productive conversations between funders and grantees and between staff members and their governing boards.

AbstractAn empirically derived model of cyclical board behavior holds that following a nonrecurring founding period, a board typically progresses through a sequence of three distinct operating phases and then experiences a crisis that initiates the whole sequence over again. During each cycle, board members become progressively less interested in the agency's mission and programs and more interested in the board's bureaucratic procedures and the agency's reputation for success in the community. Although the sequence of phases is predictable, the timing of them is not. As a conceptual framework, the model integrates the results of a variety of valuable, but otherwise unrelated, studies of governing board behavior. The cyclical model can also be used as a diagnostic tool that can enable a board member, executive director, consultant, foundation officer, or public funder to analyze quickly a particular board's perspective and potential.

Religiously affiliated providers of social services are becoming increasingly important in the transformation of social welfare policy in the United States. This article focuses on governance issues and challenges facing these small service providers. Using perspectives from the organization and management literatures and examples from prior research, the article makes three general observations. First, predictable patterns of governance exist, depending on the types of structural relationships religiously affiliated agencies have with their religious bases. Second, governance will be affected by particular characteristics of both small and religious organizations. Third, growth presents critical challenges to the ability of these providers to maintain their indigenous religious cultures. Hypotheses are offered to stimulate further research in each of these areas.