Who is responsible for evaluation?

Marilyn Wyatt (2002) on the Global Policy Forum (http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/credib/2002/08access.htm) suggested in her article that the board of directors are responsible for evaluation.

"Around the world, many nonprofit governing bodies—be they boards of directors, supervisory boards, management councils, or some other group—have yet to step up to the responsibilities that, at least theoretically, motivate their very existence."

This is a different view from the articles that we were assigned. In Hoefer (2000), the study showed that evaluation is often conducted under "coercion" or being pushed by their boards to evaluate.

Wyatt (2002) suggests that it is, in fact, the board of directors job to deal with evaluation so that the organization can continue with its mission. This would help to eliminate some of the concerns expressed by participants in Hoefer's (2000) study. These concerns include time, money, staff to do the job. Often evaluation is not conducted due to these restraints.

As it relates to the previous discussion about paying board members: Is this a reasonable expectation (expecting board members to conduct evaluation) given that they are traditionally volunteer advisors?

Whose job is it to do the evaluation? How much time would evaluation take from the organization's programs that are made to advance its mission?

"The absence of competent governance structures and processes hampers the development of both individual organisations as well as the sector as a whole." (Wyatt, 2002). This point is important, I think. How can non profits effectively evaluate themselves if there is no standard of evaluation. Ultimately, does evaluation count if there is nothing to compare it to?