ACF Compassion Capital Fund

Increasing the Capacity of Individuals, Families and Communities

Identifying and Promoting Best Practices

Task #1: Identify Best Practice Needs Among FBCOs.

Task #2: Identify Existing Best Practices

Conduct research to identify existing practices among social service organizations and academicians. Resources for research include:

	Use the Guidebook series provided by CCF to identify best practices in key areas of nonprofit operations.
	Utilize the articles, websites and resources included in the appendix and bibliography of this Guidebook.
	Network with other nonprofit organizations, social service agencies and academic institutions to identify practices that have been deemed successful.
	Utilize web-based searchable databases of best practices.

Ensure the practice meets the criteria for qualifying as a best practice. Criteria include:

	Addresses a common problem experienced by a broad spectrum of organizations.
	Works effectively to address the problem in more than one organizational setting and more than one context.
	Has shown replicability on a limited scale.
	Compares positively to data gathered from other organizations and research studies of other practices addressing the same problem.
	Shows supporting data from internal assessments or external evaluations.

Assess the validity of the practice through asking the following key questions:

	What process was used to select this practice?
	What criteria were used to measure the success of this practice?
	Was the practice compared against relative objective data with positive results or did it appear to have been primarily compared against subjective data?
	Was the practice tested in multiple settings for replicability and adaptability?
	Was the practice nominated by one person or organization or by a number of organizations or individuals?
	Is there enough information included in the description of the practice to enable implementation or adaptation?
	Does the source of the best practice appear to be a valid resource for identifying best practices?
	Is the source transparent in terms of the process and criteria used to select best practices?

Task #3: Identify and Validate New Best Practices

Find potential best practices

	Intermediaries identify potential best practices through training conducted among FBCOs.
	FBCOs self-identify potential best practices and flag for follow-up documentation and validation by the intermediary.

Describe and document the potential practice through conducting a programmatic or organizational review.

	Identify a review team.
	Create a standardized list of review questions and send ahead to the FBCO in order to prepare for meeting with them.
	Conduct the review on site at the FBCO.
	Report in writing the findings from the review.
	Analyze the review findings to determine which elements of the practice are proprietary and which are replicable.
	Meet with the FBCO to present and discuss the review findings.
	Finalize the review and prepare for validation.

Validate the best practice through conducting a comparative assessment. Types of comparatives assessments include:

	Quantitative Data Review—this type of review draws primarily on objective data sources external to the organization originating the potential best practice.
	Practitioner Peer Review—this type of review draws on the judgment of peers and other practitioner organizations to affirm the potential best practice.

Task #4: Promote and Foster Best Practices Among FBCOs.

Promote best practices through the creation of peer-to-peer network and communication systems such as:

	Online searchable databases of best practices.
	List serves.
	Face-to-Face peer learning.

Through direct training and technical assistance.

	Match supply with demand.
	Define elements of the practice for incorporation.
	Incorporate the best practice into organizational operations or programmatic activities.
	Evaluate the success of the best practice.