Non-Governmental Organisations

Each non-governmental organisation has its own remit and corresponding values, which will translate into a form of basic value (goodness). For many NGOs, this will be some form of moral (charity) or ultimate (religious or ideological) goodness. In the UK and other jurisdictions, charities are registered on the basis of promoting the public good, which is a form of moral goodness. However, many NGOs are also motivated by a sense of ultimate duty, while others have a quasi-political mission to promote justice (jural goodness).

While all kinds of stakeholder (1st pillar) and process (2nd pillar) remain essential, the analysis of valuing (3rd pillar) can therefore start from a focus on the moral or ultimate mode.

At the same time, funding is usually an important constraint on projects run by NGOs. The economic mode is therefore a constant reference point, calling for efficient stewardship of resources.

Starting from the Moral or Ultimate mode, we can work down the scale of modes (and up if appropriate). The earlier (lower) modes will always be important in some ways for fulfillment of the organisation’s primary remit.

Some NGO activities focus on human flourishing. This means a concern for goodness in all of the modes of valuing, from sensitive up to ultimate - and a focus on good human functioning - traditionally studied under the term ‘virtues’. The diagram here shows examples of virtues from each mode of valuing; this list can be adapted for a particular application.

Pluralistic evaluation for NGOs

The Pluralistic Evaluation Framework can be used at any stage of a planning and implementing a project. Appraisal of options is important, but organisations should also monitor their projects’ impact.

At any of these stages, the three pillars of the PEF are considered:

Options appraisal

Who are the primary stakeholders whom the project seeks to benefit? What other stakeholders must be considered? How can they be consulted? Where future generations or inaccessible people are concerned, how can their interests and views be adequately understood?
What kinds of processes is the project intended to influence? What other processes could possibly be affected?
What forms of improvement (added value) are sought, and at what costs (including non-monetary costs)? How might stakeholders perceive the potential impacts across the modes of valuing important to them? How does the organisation’s primary remit relate to (and possibly conflict with) the values of (other) stakeholders?

Monitoring and Evaluation

How can the stakeholders identified best be consulted?
What impacts must be assessed, and how can they be measured? What can be done to detect and mitigate unforeseen impacts? Over what timescales should different processes be monitored for impacts?
Have the intended forms of benefit (added value) been delivered, and how efficiently? How do primary and other stakeholders judge the project’s effects?

Download a template for the PEF.