Strichman, Nancy Jill
(2005)
ADAPTIVE CAPACITY IN ISRAELI SOCIAL CHANGE NONPROFITS.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
In order for nonprofit organizations to sustain themselves in today's environment, they need to continually learn from their experiences and adapt to changing circumstances. This 'adaptive capacity', considered one of the essential organizational capacities for enabling nonprofits to achieve their mission, requires nonprofits to act as 'learning organizations' and to use evaluation as a tool to enhance organizational learning and performance (Letts, Ryan & Grossman, 1999; Sussman, 2003). A theoretical framework for assessing a nonprofit's 'organizational readiness' to improve its adaptive capacity was developed and applied to ten social change nonprofits in Israel. In this descriptive cross sectional study, a questionnaire and individual interviews with staff and board members were used to gain insight into the nonprofits' work environments and learning cultures. The results demonstrate the utility of the conceptual framework while providing insight into the day-to-day realities of organizational life that help to shape the adaptive capacity of the ten nonprofits in the sample. Practical implications can be drawn regarding the development of capacity building strategies and possible focal points for the strengthening of adaptive capacity among social change nonprofits.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
15 December 2005 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
3 August 2005 |
| Approval Date: |
15 December 2005 |
| Submission Date: |
5 December 2005 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Education > Administrative and Policy Studies |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
adaptive capacity; evaluation; israel; learning organizations; nonprofits |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-12052005-152350/, etd-12052005-152350 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 20:08 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:53 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/10055 |
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