There are many important accountability relationships in the nonprofit sector. CEOs are accountable to their boards and boards must be accountable to members. The organization may also feel it should be accountable to funders, clients and others who are in positions of power and influence. The question is, how do you manage accountability relationships so all parties are satisfied.

The means by which accountability information is generated is called the evaluation process. It is based on information gathered through performance assessment. Evaluation can be applied to individuals, programs or the organization as a whole. It is a formal attempt to get a picture of "how we are doing".

This section of VSKN provides practical information on how to improve accountability relationships and implement workable systems for evaluating programs and the organization as a whole.