Assessment
From WikiAdvocacy
[edit] Goal of Assessment
The goal of this diagnostic section is to help you define your goals, resources, and challenges—identifying what you have, what you want and what you will need to plan for success. You will start by listing what you want to achieve, and then use our templates to assemble information to characterize the condition your organization supports (hereafter called "your condition"), list the resources you have available to you, and consider the elements that are not yet in place.
[edit] Assessment of Your Organization
In each of these sections, take as little or as much time as you need, but in all cases, step out of the box, out of your usual way of thinking and really think big—not just what you can see yourself doing now, or even soon, but what you dream of being able to do. You may discover some interesting ideas or angles you had not considered before. You may also discover that you already have the resources to start building a foundation for your larger or newer goals.
You will have many opportunities within your organization to work together with this information. To begin, if there are others working with you in your organization, or helping you to consider founding an organization, ask them to complete this diagnostic independently. As an alternative, a core group may choose to do the first few assessment sections separately, perhaps one each, and then meet to work through the synthesis step, Step 4. There are benefits to working alone, just as there are of coming together to share what you've assembled.
You may work through the first three sections in any order; the fourth involves combining the results from the prior sections. Even if you feel there is only one area you need to examine, read through the other areas, too. This can help you keep the "big picture" of the organization in mind. By revisiting areas outside your immediate focus, you may discover something that had been lying just below the surface—something really wonderful!
Finally, this is not a test. Not every item will apply to your organization, and there is no "scoring" system. It is a way to consolidate what you already know in bits and pieces, a starting point to help you plan your success by listing what you have and what you will need. We describe the process and list the questions below; you can access the forms for these activities by clicking on the links within the text.
