To successfully implement a performance management system, an agency must have the organizational capacity to plan, track, organize, analyze and evaluate the results of its day to day operations. It does this to determine what needs to be changed - or improved - to achieve the agency's intended results in the most efficient and effective manner.
This guide, Agency Assessment of Organizational Capacity, is intended to provide information for Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) funded agencies about what organizational processes need to be in place to implement a continuous improvement performance management system (CIPMS). It is intended to help you determine the extent to which your agency is ready to fully implement CIPMS.
LBS service providers range from large institutions in urban settings to small not for profit agencies in rural areas, using both paid and volunteer staff. Despite this range, all LBS funded agencies are strongly focussed on client services, and sometimes the organizational capacity of the agency is not the top priority. While we realize that each agency differs, and that one system will not fit all, we hope that this guide will give you an easy template to use as you work toward making improvements. Our goal is to assist you by providing you with tools that will help you in your efforts to improve the quality of service provided to all LBS clients and to create a well integrated system-wide analysis of results.
Some agencies have developed continuous improvement processes and are already managing their agency growth in this way. They can adjust this guide to suit their needs or continue to use their current practices provided that: