What are the barriers and facilitators for third sector organisations (non-profits) to evaluate their services? A systematic review
Abstract Background The third sector is becoming a more common provider of social and health services, but little is known about how third sector organisations (TSOs) evaluate their activities. Past research has reported that the third sector is under increasing pressure to evaluate its impact and p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2018-01-01
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| Series: | Systematic Reviews |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13643-018-0681-1 |
| _version_ | 1831764762929659904 |
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| author | Anders Malthe Bach-Mortensen Paul Montgomery |
| author_facet | Anders Malthe Bach-Mortensen Paul Montgomery |
| author_sort | Anders Malthe Bach-Mortensen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The third sector is becoming a more common provider of social and health services, but little is known about how third sector organisations (TSOs) evaluate their activities. Past research has reported that the third sector is under increasing pressure to evaluate its impact and performance by government and other commissioning bodies. However, in responding to this increased pressure to undertake evaluation, research suggests that many TSOs struggle to evaluate their activities following the principles of evidence-based practice (EBP). Yet, there has been no systematic effort to investigate why the third sector is struggling to provide good quality evidence of its effects. Methods This systematic review is reported following the PRISMA guidelines. Ten interdisciplinary databases were searched using a search string developed following best practice and in consultation with an information systems expert. Included studies were primary research of any research design investigating barriers to and facilitators of the evaluation process of TSOs as identified by practitioners. All studies were quality appraised, and the results were synthesised as a thematic summary. Results Twenty-four studies were included, which mainly investigated TSOs working within health and social services. The thematic summary identified the main barriers for TSOs to undertake evaluation to be related to the (1) lack of financial resources, (2) lack of technical capability and evaluation literacy and (3) challenges around identifying relevant evaluation systems and outcome indicators. Key facilitating factors involved (1) getting the appropriate support, (2) having an organisational culture that supports evaluation and (3) the motivation to be accountable to stakeholders. These findings were robust to study quality. Conclusions This review constitutes the first systematic effort to synthesise existing literature on factors supporting and preventing evaluation by TSOs. The prevalence of factors revolving around the lack of support, resources and clarity on appropriate outcome indicators suggests that many of the identified challenges may be met by applying evidence-based and stakeholder-inclusive strategies to develop shared evaluation requirements. Future efforts should address the application of EBP as part of the commissioning process of TSOs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T05:50:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-78720c59f6754b15b27dbdc26040af5b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2046-4053 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T05:50:41Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Systematic Reviews |
| spelling | doaj.art-78720c59f6754b15b27dbdc26040af5b2022-12-21T18:36:53ZengBMCSystematic Reviews2046-40532018-01-017111510.1186/s13643-018-0681-1What are the barriers and facilitators for third sector organisations (non-profits) to evaluate their services? A systematic reviewAnders Malthe Bach-Mortensen0Paul Montgomery1Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of OxfordDepartment of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology, University of BirminghamAbstract Background The third sector is becoming a more common provider of social and health services, but little is known about how third sector organisations (TSOs) evaluate their activities. Past research has reported that the third sector is under increasing pressure to evaluate its impact and performance by government and other commissioning bodies. However, in responding to this increased pressure to undertake evaluation, research suggests that many TSOs struggle to evaluate their activities following the principles of evidence-based practice (EBP). Yet, there has been no systematic effort to investigate why the third sector is struggling to provide good quality evidence of its effects. Methods This systematic review is reported following the PRISMA guidelines. Ten interdisciplinary databases were searched using a search string developed following best practice and in consultation with an information systems expert. Included studies were primary research of any research design investigating barriers to and facilitators of the evaluation process of TSOs as identified by practitioners. All studies were quality appraised, and the results were synthesised as a thematic summary. Results Twenty-four studies were included, which mainly investigated TSOs working within health and social services. The thematic summary identified the main barriers for TSOs to undertake evaluation to be related to the (1) lack of financial resources, (2) lack of technical capability and evaluation literacy and (3) challenges around identifying relevant evaluation systems and outcome indicators. Key facilitating factors involved (1) getting the appropriate support, (2) having an organisational culture that supports evaluation and (3) the motivation to be accountable to stakeholders. These findings were robust to study quality. Conclusions This review constitutes the first systematic effort to synthesise existing literature on factors supporting and preventing evaluation by TSOs. The prevalence of factors revolving around the lack of support, resources and clarity on appropriate outcome indicators suggests that many of the identified challenges may be met by applying evidence-based and stakeholder-inclusive strategies to develop shared evaluation requirements. Future efforts should address the application of EBP as part of the commissioning process of TSOs.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13643-018-0681-1Evidence-based practiceEBPBarriers and facilitatorsEvaluation capacityThird sector organisationsTSO |
| spellingShingle | Anders Malthe Bach-Mortensen Paul Montgomery What are the barriers and facilitators for third sector organisations (non-profits) to evaluate their services? A systematic review Systematic Reviews Evidence-based practice EBP Barriers and facilitators Evaluation capacity Third sector organisations TSO |
| title | What are the barriers and facilitators for third sector organisations (non-profits) to evaluate their services? A systematic review |
| title_full | What are the barriers and facilitators for third sector organisations (non-profits) to evaluate their services? A systematic review |
| title_fullStr | What are the barriers and facilitators for third sector organisations (non-profits) to evaluate their services? A systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | What are the barriers and facilitators for third sector organisations (non-profits) to evaluate their services? A systematic review |
| title_short | What are the barriers and facilitators for third sector organisations (non-profits) to evaluate their services? A systematic review |
| title_sort | what are the barriers and facilitators for third sector organisations non profits to evaluate their services a systematic review |
| topic | Evidence-based practice EBP Barriers and facilitators Evaluation capacity Third sector organisations TSO |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13643-018-0681-1 |
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