Without unique missions to serve a public purpose, nonprofits have no justification to exist. Much of the focus on mission in scholarship centers on concerns with mission drift and pressures from external actors. Yet internal dynamics may be just as important in developing a common mission and the coherent activities pursuing it. This research identifies the structural forces shaping organizational members' individual mission conceptions and leading them to emulate and converge around a shared dominant conception. We apply the concept of institutional isomorphism to 104 interviews conducted with staff, managers, board members, and volunteers from 14 human services nonprofits and explain the isomorphic pathways of individuals adopting dominant mission conceptions. Employing qualitative comparative analysis, we analyze the interviews capturing various combinations of individual backgrounds, motivations for joining the organization, and language used to share the mission with others. We find the presence of seven isomorphic pathways leading nonprofit professionals to adopt the dominant interpretations.

Membership associations are membership owned; they serve their members but play a critical role in the society. This study examines association membership and volunteering behaviors to identify differences in how people of color experience these organizations. Results detect continued barriers to engagement by people of color in terms of volunteering opportunities, and less so for joining these associations. People of color tend to engage in more activities but dedicate less time to these engagements, creating unbalanced results; yet they find more satisfaction from these engagements compared to their White counterparts. Associations themselves must continue to identify and remove barriers to fair participation rooted in racism.

Nonprofit activity produces social benefits, brings engaged actors in social networks, and promotes a sense of community and belonging by instilling shared values and norms, resulting in community trust and support back to the nonprofit. This reciprocal pattern of community building features the nonprofit role in building social capital. Social capital develops in interaction with the entrepreneurship context. Social entrepreneurial models of nonprofit learning and innovation demonstrate the potential of new entrepreneurial methods and market opportunities to help organizations achieve desired social impacts. This article adds a discussion on nonprofit missions as a vehicle driving nonprofit learning and innovation to be motivated to facilitate community building. By developing a moderated mediation model, we propose that value-instilled innovation from the interactive form of learning and shared mission enhances the nonprofit role in building social capital. The findings support the hypothesized relationships, producing implications for the community-building motivation of nonprofit organizations.

Nonprofit leaders are instrumental in constructing and managing organizational reality. They thus need to possess skills to make meaning about various activities, interests, and organizational values, especially when mission and service contexts are in flux. Scholars recognize the sector-distinct leadership role in social construction. Nevertheless, research has yet to articulate clearly how meaning-making by nonprofit leaders develops leadership. This article fills this knowledge gap. We illuminate meaning-making leadership in nonprofits. We identify interpretive leadership skill as an essential executive competency for configuring a shared reality of the nonprofit and guiding others to that reality. Interpretive leadership skill is composed of three meaning-making capabilities: contextual astuteness, coordination capacity, and self-reflective capacity. We theorize that interpretive leadership skill develops from the cognitive and identity development processes of the leader in social interactions. A constructive-developmental approach to leadership underlies our theory building. Theoretical and practical utility of this conceptualization is discussed, as are directions for future research.

Does the sector that an individual works in influence their motivation to participate in voluntary associations? Private and public engagement motivation theories hold that individuals participate in these collective action associations to either benefit themselves or benefit the common good, respectively. While previous research has evaluated motivations to join, the influence of engagement motivation theory by sector has yet to be evaluated. This study uses the 2011 American Society of Association Executives’ (ASAE) ‘Decision to Join II’ study to examine whether an individual’s sector influences their motivation to engage in formal, voluntary collective action networks. We found that non-profit and government sector employees value benefits that impact the public good more than benefits that directly impact themselves. These findings suggest that there may be a difference in the type of benefits that individuals who work in for-profit, non-profit and government sectors value when deciding whether or not to engage in voluntary associations.

The Southeastern Conference for Public Administration (SECoPA) began in 1969 in the wake of reapportionment and desegregation. The founders of SECoPA sought to promote the emergence of a new South, one that would be both dynamic and inclusive, by promoting the practice and study of public administration throughout the region. In the decades since, SECoPA has continued to host annual conferences serving the region. Through coding and analysis of annual conference programs, and using the lens of new institutionalism, this article explores SECoPA’s history and fidelity to its founding mission. The annual conferences have been responsive to concerns of public administration scholars in the region, but drastic declines in practitioner participation mirror broader trends in the profession.

Organizational identity is an important concept in organizational theory, as it can contextualize the behavior of organizations and members. The literature presents divergent perspectives on organizational identity: some studies have characterized organizational identity as constrained by institutional forces, whereas others have contended it is socially constructed by organizational members. Studies have largely focused on the former perspective, measuring organizational identity by sector affiliation; the latter approach has rarely been empirically tested. Therefore, in addition to sector affiliation, this article proposes a different approach to operationalizing organizational identity by examining hospitals' mission statements. The study also examines which of these dual forces have more predictive power regarding organizational performance. Together with hospitals' sector affiliation, we test how the presence and frequency of mission statement language regarding access, cost, quality, or unique organizational values affect hospitals' various performance metrics. Regression analyses with 172 acute hospitals in Florida reveal significant relationships between types of mission statement content, sectors, and performance indicators.

Increased attention is being paid to networks in public administration and development policy, yet there is limited understanding of how voluntary global networks form and why some of these networks cohere and emerge faster than others. Comparisons between the global networks for tuberculosis (TB) and pneumonia reveal processes of network formation relevant to other contexts. Though selected as most similar paired cases, their trajectories of network emergence diverged and TB's formed far earlier and more easily. By using a theoretic framework allowing for networks to be considered as outcomes of a policy process, this study reveals an iterative process of network emergence corresponding to the three streams model of issue attention. Successful emergence is based on building shared identities among policy entrepreneurs, agreeing on issue frames, creating institutions, developing relationships, sustaining latent networks during issue neglect, and linking to opportunities in the policy environment. Further, this study reveals that once formed, network structures enable access to political opportunities and more effective development policymaking and governance. Additionally, for networks struggling to take shape, we identify deliberate efforts that can overcome earlier iterations of failed attempts at network formation.

Many factors influence the extent to which nonprofit organizations engage in evaluation. Drawing on organization theory, nonprofit scholarship, and public administration research, we propose a set of hypotheses concerning the interrelationships between organizational characteristics and various aspects of nonprofit evaluation. We test these hypotheses using combined data from an original national survey and IRS Forms 990. Analysis reveals that although higher levels of staff compensation support many aspects of evaluation, higher levels of executive compensation exert negative effects. Additionally, evaluation culture mediates the effects of several variables on evaluation rigor and frequency. Practical implications are discussed for scholars and practitioners.

Missions are central to all nonprofit organizations, and establish their purposes. However, formal mission statements can fail to provide a true picture of a nonprofit’s mission. This article draws on prior scholarship on missions, including the role of interpretation and change, to propose two new concepts: personal and dominant mission conceptions that introduce a dynamic, socially‐constructed understanding of nonprofit mission. Personal mission conceptions are the interpretations that individuals within a nonprofit hold of the mission, while the dominant mission conception is the collective interpretation guiding a nonprofit during a specific time. Examples from two specific nonprofits are provided to demonstrate the conceptions, along with some guidance for how mission conceptions can inform future research and practice.

Nonprofit organizations are under more pressure than ever to provide "rigorous" evidence of program impact. However, as expectations for rigorous evidence rise, many nonprofits struggle with challenges that inhibit evaluation. Recognizing these trends and tensions, this study identifies catalysts and obstacles to evaluation activity and the correlates of evaluative rigor among US nonprofits based on a national survey of registered public charities (n = 311). Results reveal that the most important catalysts to evaluation include the desire to improve program effectiveness and legitimacy, while the most important obstacles include insufficient time and money. Moreover, regression analysis finds that evaluation appears to be most rigorous when (1) evaluation is a priority, (2) a supportive organizational culture exists, (3) management requires evaluation, (4) evaluation is not primarily motivated by personal interest, and (5) evaluation is likely to reveal success. Overall, intrinsically motivated evaluation appears to be more rigorous than externally mandated evaluation, suggesting that stakeholders should work to help capacitate receptive nonprofits to improve evaluative rigor instead of imposing external requirements.

Global health issues vary in the amount of attention and resources they receive. One reason is that the networks of individuals and organizations that address these issues differ in their effectiveness. This article presents key findings from a research project on the emergence and effectiveness of global health networks addressing tobacco use, alcohol harm, maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, tuberculosis and pneumonia. Although networks are only one of many factors influencing priority, they do matter, particularly for shaping the way the problem and solutions are understood, and convincing governments, international organizations and other global actors to address the issue. Their national-level effects vary by issue and are more difficult to ascertain. Networks are most likely to produce effects when (1) their members construct a compelling framing of the issue, one that includes a shared understanding of the problem, a consensus on solutions and convincing reasons to act and (2) they build a political coalition that includes individuals and organizations beyond their traditional base in the health sector, a task that demands engagement in the politics of the issue, not just its technical aspects. Maintaining a focused frame and sustaining a broad coalition are often in tension: effective networks find ways to balance the two challenges. The emergence and effectiveness of a network are shaped both by its members' decisions and by contextual factors, including historical influences (e.g. prior failed attempts to address the problem), features of the policy environment (e.g. global development goals) and characteristics of the issue the network addresses (e.g. its mortality burden). Their proliferation raises the issue of their legitimacy. Reasons to consider them legitimate include their members' expertise and the attention they bring to neglected issues. Reasons to question their legitimacy include their largely elite composition and the fragmentation they bring to global health governance.

Since 1990 mortality and morbidity decline has been more extensive for some conditions prevalent in low- and middle-income countries than for others. One reason may be differences in the effectiveness of global health networks, which have proliferated in recent years. Some may be more capable than others in attracting attention to a condition, in generating funding, in developing interventions and in convincing national governments to adopt policies. This article introduces a supplement on the emergence and effectiveness of global health networks. The supplement examines networks concerned with six global health problems: tuberculosis (TB), pneumonia, tobacco use, alcohol harm, maternal mortality and newborn deaths. This article presents a conceptual framework delineating factors that may shape why networks crystallize more easily surrounding some issues than others, and once formed, why some are better able than others to shape policy and public health outcomes. All supplement papers draw on this framework. The framework consists of 10 factors in three categories: (1) features of the networks and actors that comprise them, including leadership, governance arrangements, network composition and framing strategies; (2) conditions in the global policy environment, including potential allies and opponents, funding availability and global expectations concerning which issues should be prioritized; (3) and characteristics of the issue, including severity, tractability and affected groups. The article also explains the design of the project, which is grounded in comparison of networks surrounding three matched issues: TB and pneumonia, tobacco use and alcohol harm, and maternal and newborn survival. Despite similar burden and issue characteristics, there has been considerably greater policy traction for the first in each pair. The supplement articles aim to explain the role of networks in shaping these differences, and collectively represent the first comparative effort to understand the emergence and effectiveness of global health networks.

Advocacy, policy, research and intervention efforts against childhood pneumonia have lagged behind other health issues, including malaria, measles and tuberculosis. Accelerating progress on the issue began in 2008, following decades of efforts by individuals and organizations to address the leading cause of childhood mortality and establish a global health network. This article traces the history of this network's formation and evolution to identify lessons for other global health issues. Through document review and interviews with current, former and potential network members, this case study identifies five distinct eras of activity against childhood pneumonia: a period of isolation (post WWII to 1984), the duration of WHO's Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) Programme (1984-1995), Integrated Management of Childhood illness's (IMCI) early years (1995-2003), a brief period of network re-emergence (2003-2008) and recent accelerating progress (2008 on). Analysis of these eras reveals the critical importance of building a shared identity in order to form an effective network and take advantage of emerging opportunities. During the ARI era, an initial network formed around a relatively narrow shared identity focused on community-level care. The shift to IMCI led to the partial dissolution of this network, stalled progress on addressing pneumonia in communities and missed opportunities. Frustrated with lack of progress on the issue, actors began forming a network and shared identity that included a broad spectrum of those whose interests overlap with pneumonia. As the network coalesced and expanded, its members coordinated and collaborated on conducting and sharing research on severity and tractability, crafting comprehensive strategies and conducting advocacy. These network activities exerted indirect influence leading to increased attention, funding, policies and some implementation.

Policy formulation and adoption are poorly understood phases of the health policy process. We conducted a narrative synthesis of 28 articles on health policy in low- and middle-income countries to provide insight on what kinds of activities take place in these phases, the actors crafting policies and the institutions in which policy making occurs. The narrative synthesis involved an inductive process to identify relevant articles, extract relevant data from text and reach new understandings. We find that actors exercising decision-making power include not just various governmental entities, but also civil society, commissioners, nongovernmental organizations and even clergy. We also find that most articles identified two or more distinct institutions in which policy formulation and adoption occurred. Finally, we identify seven distinct activities inherent in policy formulation and adoption: generation of policy alternatives, deliberation and/or consultation, advocacy of specific policy alternatives, lobbying for specific alternatives, negotiation of policy decisions, drafting or enacting policy and guidance/influence on implementation development. Health policy researchers can draw on these categories to deepen their understanding of how policy formulation and adoption unfolds.

This article examines a human rights NGO that ceased operations after only 8 years. A voluntary and planned end, this case raises the possibility of a new form, the time-bound organization. Through a series of interviews with staff, board members, the founder, and key external stakeholders, this study examines the nonprofit’s leadership, time-bound structure, strategic approach, and wind-down process. Drawing on the lessons of this case, this article identifies benefits and challenges of the time-bound organization form. A range of voluntary organizations could learn from this example and consider the form, including nonprofits experiencing a leadership transition, facing environmental threats, or considering a structural change such as a merger.