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Learning for Purpose
Researching the Social Return on Education and
Training in the Australian Not-for-Profit Sector
Preliminary Research Report 2014
This report has been prepared by A/Prof Ramon Wenzel and Prof Paul Flatau at the Centre for Social
Impact at the University of Western Australia Business School to summarise preliminary findings
relating to the Social Return on Education and Training studies. The authors would like to thank Amy
Lyden and Rebecca Taylor from the Australian Scholarships Foundation for their valuable contribution
to the project, as well as Les Hems from EY for his initiative to address the topic. Substantial gratitude
is expressed to the Origin Foundation for funding the first round of this research, and in particular Sean
Barrett and Tom Keenan for their support and advice. An immense debt of gratitude is owed to all those
people who voluntarily participated in this research by giving their time to interviews and surveys so
findings can assist in shaping social change. For queries please contact:
A/Prof Ramon Wenzel
Lead Researcher ‘Learning for Purpose’
Centre for Social Impact | Business School
University of Western Australia
M261, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley
Perth, WA 6009, Australia
(08) 6488 5675
Sean Barrett
Head of Origin Foundation
Amy Lyden
CEO Australian Scholarships Foundation
1300 248 675
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 1
Background ............................................................................................................................................ 3
About this Report .................................................................................................................................... 5
#1 To what extent is professional development evident in Australian NFP organisations?................. 7
#2 What effect does professional development have on the performance of the organisation? ......... 9
#3 Is professional development systematically affecting employees?...............................................11
#4 What is the multifaceted impact of professional development? ...................................................13
#5 What are the barriers for professional development in the NFP sector? ......................................15
#6 What are the needs for developing key competencies in the NFP sector? ..................................17
Discussion .............................................................................................................................................19
Methodology & References ....................................................................................................................20
References ............................................................................................................................................21
*word cloud on cover reflects senior executive responses regarding their personal professional development needs
| 1
Executive Summary
There is a considerable need to improve understanding, evidence, and management about gaining
and sustaining the key competencies in Australian Not-for-Profit organisations (NFPs) so they can
best create social change.
This report presents the preliminary findings from field research since 2012 as a basis for
discussion to NFP leaders, training providers, policy makers, and funders. Six essential research
questions were addressed, the key findings are:
#1 Australian NFP organisations and about 58% of their staff do engage in professional
development, though access to professional development appears highly variable in different
types of NFP sectors, organisations, locations, and groups of staff.
#2 Those NFP organisations that systematically facilitate professional development are found to
enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities of their staff, and consequently both individuals
and organisations are found to do better.
#3 Professional development activities geared at NFP key competencies (e.g. NFP governance,
strategic leadership, impact evaluation) have systematic positive effects on those individuals
being trained: they have greater clarity and confidence when compared to a control group.
#4 The vast majority of impact narratives provided by trainees reflect multifaceted, positive, and
often powerful outcomes that are attributed to the professional development experience,
including better leadership, saving funds, enhanced performance, increased well-being etc.
#5 The lack of money and time are identified as prevailing barriers that hold back the Australian
NFP sector and its people to engage with professional development activities. Particularly
small NFPs appear challenged by the absence of a designated budget for development.
#6 There is a need for increased professional development, though the Australian NFP sector
shows significant variation regarding: What key competencies are needed, where are they
needed, and for whom – calling for more granular, reliable data to support policy and practice.
Taken together, this suggests i) the ability of Australian Not-for-Profit organisations to respond to
environmental challenges and realise their mission depends to a substantial extent on the
knowledge, skills, and abilities of their people, and ii) professional development systematically
contributes to the creation of social change. Consequently there is a clear need to build the key
competencies required in the NFP sector; they can be systematically developed on the basis of
sound research, enabling policy and practice, and the provision of resources. A supporting agenda of applied research is thus proposed to ensure that Australia will be able to
meet the expected growth of the NFP sector and that it will be provided with the key competencies
it needs. Future research (pending funding) seeks to:
a) Chart the needs and barriers to develop NFP key competencies on a national scale
b) Understand how these key competencies can be effectively and efficiently developed
c) Facilitate NFP stakeholders, policy and mechanisms that support capacity building
d) Continue to evaluate and demonstrate the impact of professional development schemes
CEO, Disability Services (SA)
CEO, Environmental Preservation (WA)
| 3
Background
About 600,000 Not-for-Profit organisations (NFPs) fulfil crucial societal roles in Australia as they
seek to meet public needs in fields where business and public organisations are not able or willing
to engage. NFPs address social disadvantage, civic awareness, community cohesion, education,
cultural heritage, biodiversity, artistic creation, well-being, research, and more.
The Australian NFP sector is also economically crucial: the 57,000 NFPs identified as economically
significant employ over one million people (9% of the workforce) and generate $55 billion to the
GDP (4%), while more than 5 million volunteers additionally contribute an estimated $15 billion in
unpaid work1.
Moreover, the NFP sector is the fastest growing part of the Australian economy; over the past six
years it has grown at almost twice the rate of the mining sector2. Particularly the community-
services sector has shown an above average jobs growth nationally3, and is predicted to experience
the most significant industry growth by about 4% per annum until 20254.
At the same time NFPs are being increasingly challenged: they are ever more held accountable to
deliver better quality services, adapt to new regulatory frameworks, develop complex strategies,
compete for limited resources and clients, manage shifting volunteer and donor preferences, and
face increased costs and decreasing funds5.
Recent changes significantly affect the Australian NFP sector, including the National Disability
Insurance Scheme Act6; the government’s budget and tax reforms7, the de-regulation of the
education sector7, the abolishment of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
alongside the establishment of the Civil Society National Centre for Excellence8.
People are key in the NFP sector, as reflected by 51% of budgets being spent on labour costs. Yet,
NFPs also face a substantial staff shortage9, and have to progressively compete with government
and private organisations to resource the talent and competencies needed for being successful10.
Indeed, 72% of Australian CEOs are very concerned about the availability of key skills and 45%
consider talent to be a top priority11.
Evidence suggests many NFPs are not sufficiently equipped to meet these challenges. The majority
of NFP leaders is pessimistic their organisations will be able to deliver on what’s expected of them2.
Concerningly, in 2010 the Productivity Commission identified a lack of critical knowledge, skills,
and abilities as a major limitation for the long-term viability of Australian NFPs12, recommending
to increase the scale, quality and availability of key competencies in the NFP domain.
Accordingly, NFPs’ ability to respond to these complex challenges effectively rests on the sector’s
ability to build its own capacity through developing the knowledge, skills and abilities for sustaining
and improving the delivery of a mission13. The Australian NFP sector has to commit its members
and stakeholders to a professional development strategy. There is a considerable need to improve
understanding, evidence, and management about gaining and sustaining the key competencies in
Australian NFP organisations so they can best create social change.
‘Learning for Purpose’
A National Research Program
‘Learning for Purpose’ is a ground breaking, national
research program that investigates capacity building
through professional development for the Australian
Not-for-Profit sector. The aim is to systematically
understand, evaluate, and improve the means through
which individuals and organisations gain and sustain
the key competencies for realising social change.
The applied research is led by the Centre for Social
Impact at the University of Western Australia, realised
in close collaboration with the Australian Scholarships
Foundation, and first-round funded by the Origin
Foundation. Through this research all partners seek to
inform theory, practice and policy about maximising
NFPs capability and effectiveness so they achieve
their social and community objectives.
The first stage of the research systematically
examines the Social Return on Education and Training
(SRET) for individuals and organisations. Future
studies (pending funding) seek to chart the needs and
barriers for developing the key competencies required
in the critical NFP sector, and identify the most
effective and efficient mechanisms by which to
develop them on a national scale.
visit: www.business.uwa.edu.au/learning-for-pupose
| 5
About this Report
It is commonly asserted that professional development engaged in by organisations generate
considerable benefits. However, evidence to support this central hypothesis in the Australian NFP
sector is surprisingly missing. This research thus investigates professional development as it relates
to Australian NFP organisations and their members: testing fundamental hypotheses, generating
baseline data, and exploring the current situation.
This research understands competence at work as a function of prior education, existing knowledge
and skills, work experience, informal learning, and formal professional development. The latter
may include trainings, workshops, conferences, coaching and other events that deliberately
enhance knowledge, skills, and abilities and bring about changes in job behaviour so employees can
meet current and future demands for organisational performance and social change.14,15
The key competencies identified as important for the Australian NFP sector relate to strategy;
governance; leadership; program/service design; outcome/impact measurement and evaluation;
risk management and legal issues; financial management and accounting; enlisting funding;
attracting, developing, retaining talent; community outreach/marketing; advocacy and public
policy; ethics; diversity; and managing volunteers.
This report presents the preliminary results of field research conducted since 2012. A full research
report featuring additional data and analyses will be released mid-2015. Past project reports are
available on request. The present report represents a first basis for discussion to NFP leaders,
training providers, policy makers, and funders. Six essential research questions and associated key
findings are summarised next.
Amount of hours spent
on work-related
learning activities per
month by NFP senior
executives
15 18 at work at home
51% 58% 62% 56% 82% 61% 38% 64% ALL STAFF 58%
45% 49% 34% 36% 66% 48% 32% 54% Governance Board 46%
59% 78% 74% 69% 89% 75% 35% 76% Upper Management 71%
59% 55% 71% 64% 90% 63% 38% 70% Middle Management 65%
39% 46% 71% 63% 91% 62% 43% 69% Line Management 61%
51% 69% 83% 64% 87% 67% 53% 73% Staff / Professionals 69%
52% 50% 41% 39% 70% 50% 29% 39% Volunteers 46%< 9 25 50 100 200 500 1000 > 1000
organisational size (by staff members)
Exposure to professional development in 2014
professional development activities employed
| 7
#1 To what extent is professional development evident in
Australian NFP organisations?
Little information exists about the organisations and the people in the Australian NFP sector and
their engagement with professional development. The scarcity of such baseline data is
problematic as it constrains any issues to be identified and acted upon. This is a first exploration
Findings from a representative sample of 103 Australian NFP organisations suggest that in 2014
they have engaged, on average, about 58% of all staff in some form of professional development.
However, there is varying intensity: organisations with small and large budgets and employee bases
appear to engage their staff in less professional development (~55%) than organisations with a
medium-sized employee base and budget (~70%).
Different groups of employees also receive varying exposure to professional development: few
directors and volunteers experienced formal development activities (~46%), followed by middle
management (~65%), and led by professional staff and upper management (~70%).
The professional development that was undertaken involved mainly on-the-job training, external
and internal training, conferences, seminars, and relevant literature. Less regular approaches
include mentoring, coaching, on-line courses and webinars. Far less employed were schemes that
involved job rotation and tertiary programs.
Surveyed senior executives spent more time, on average, on work-related development outside of
work (18hrs per months) than during work (15hrs per months), which includes all formal
(e.g. training) and informal (e.g. self-study) learning activities.
Australian NFP organisations and their staff do engage in professional development.
However, access to professional development appears highly variable in different
types of NFP organisations and locations and for different groups of staff. While
there is a large spectrum of available professional development activities, it is
employed with varying intensity.
Organisational
Human Resource
Development
Practices &
Policies
Organisational
Performance
.22
.66
2
*full mediated regression; statistical significance p < .01
| 9
#2 What effect does professional development have on the
performance of the organisation?
The central hypothesis of this research argues that developing key competencies makes workers
more effective in their jobs, and as a consequence NFP organisations become more productive in
their endeavour to facilitate social change. Although in line with human capital theory16 and
extant research17,18, testing this hypothesis in the Australian NFP context – for the first time – is
important to demonstrate the effect of and inform decisions about practices, policies, and
resources.
In surveying 103 senior executives about their Australian NFP organisations significant positive
associations were found between organisational human resource development practices and
policies, percentage of staff engaged in professional development, various dimensions of
organisational competence and capability, and organisational performance (total and relative to
market).
Importantly, regression analysis supports the core hypothesis, namely that: a) organisational
practices that facilitate professional development positively affect b) organisational competence &
capability (.22), which in turn positively affects c) organisational performance (.66).
The regression model supports full mediation, explains 66% of the variance, and the total effect of
organisational human resource practices on organisational performance is estimated with 15%.
Closer analysis on item level further shows that the strongest predictors are: 1) the existence of a
budget for human resource development (.18), and 2) alignment between training and development
activities with the overall vision and mission (.16).
Those organisations that systematically facilitate professional development enhance
the knowledge, skills and abilities of their staff, and consequently both individuals
and organisations do better.
I have clarity about my roles insidethe boardroom.
I have clarity about my leadershipfunction as director.
I have clarity about the role of theboard.
I have clarity about my roles outsidethe boardroom.
I have clarity about how to deal withdifficult governance situations.
I have clarity about the duties andresponsibilities as director.
I have clarity about potentialpersonal liability as director.
I have clarity about associatedstakeholders and stakeholder
management strategies.
I have clarity about potential issuesfacing the board with respect to
funding and sponsorshiparrangements.
I have clarity about criteria formeasuring NFP impact and
achievements.
I have clarity about the role of theregulatory authorities in the NFP
sector.
Role clarity before and after training - learners compared to control group
Learner before training Learner 6 months after Control before training Control 6 months after
3.75
3.8
3.85
3.9
3.95
4
4.05
Before training 6 months after training
Job Self-Efficacy before and after training
Learners Control
*Figures visualise findings relating to NFP governance training cohorts: 226 learners and 161 control group
members. Findings are significant p < .01. Comparable effects were found for cohorts relating to strategic
leadership training, impact evaluation seminars, and legal workshops.
| 11
#3 Is professional development systematically affecting
employees?
Little empirical evidence exists about the effects of professional development on the employees
who work in organisations seeking to create social change. While extant research has
demonstrated the positive effects of training on individuals more generally17, there is a lack of
research that specifically focuses on interventions addressing 1) members of, and 2) the
idiosyncratic key competencies of the Australian NFP sector.
NFPs operate within fragmented and complex systems whose stakeholders require distinct
approaches: NFP governance requires a wider range of skills than linked to for-profit directors19,
strategic and operational features of NFPs are require distinct approaches to leadership20,21, and
managers must be prepared to work on multiple bottom lines22.
A panel of NFP employees/volunteers who experienced professional development for key
competencies such as a) NFP governance, b) strategic NFP leadership, and c) impact evaluation
was followed over time. Findings show significantly higher levels on most, if not all competence
dimensions – measured as competence clarity before and months after the learning experience.
Cohort a) was compared to a control group comprising directors who did not experience respective
training. The training group scored significantly higher when compared to the control group.
For the trained individuals gain in competence clarity was subsequently found to lead to an increase
in job self-efficacy (and not vice versa, thus indicating causality). Job self-efficacy (or job
confidence) is a key predictor for work performance23. In other words, the training did enhance
employees’ understanding on a key competence, and as a consequence this positively affected how
people think, feel and go about their capacity at work.
Professional development activities geared at NFP key competencies can – and in the
case of those examined – do have systematic positive effects on those individuals
being trained.
“The knowledge that I gained at the course has now become part of my
overall knowledge. I feel that the Directors’ course added to my knowledge
and gave me the confidence to speak up on whether matters were being dealt
with properly or appropriately and, in fact, how they should be dealt with.”
The Not-for-Profit Board, attended in 2012
“It changed how I deal with emails. I feel slightly better about my workload, have been
more focused on tasks related to work goals and personal goals. I feel I have been less
distracted from the real work since. I have been able to work more effectively, adding at
least 1/2hr to my day - which is 10% of my time, and worth at least $350 per week.”
Time and project management, attended in 2014
“Helps to build our audience and increased our brand awareness. The advice I kept it in mind
when posting and planning, immediately resulted in donations and in volunteer recruitment.”
Facebook Power Strategies, attended in 2014
“I now write the organisation's fundraising plan with new emphasis on the mix of
programs, the talent and resources available and the reason we are in business. Look at the
organisation with a new perspective. Also look at what we are good at and focus on being
really good at it; look at what we don't do so well and be comfortable about that. Look at the
set of choices that position the organisation to achieve superior results over the long term.”
Strategic NFP Management, attended in 2014
“Since the course I have been finding and researching articles that relate to
our mission and aims and post these onto our Facebook page. This has
built our impact in the community and spread the word about our charity
and purpose. The twitter account is also active and I am getting feedback
from that as well, we gained a lot of supporters.” Social Media, attended in 2013
“Highly practical advice, immediately applicable to my role. Be brave. Have the difficult
conversations. Hold people to account. Became more active in acknowledging and rewarding the
high performers, and weeding out the low performers. Greatly improved ability and willingness to
address underperformance, and to encourage high performance in those with the will and the
capability. Increased productivity of mediocre performers. Exit of one under-performer, replaced by
someone working at a much higher level, for the same salary. Approx. gains/savings $50,000pa”
Leadership Intensive, attended in 2013
“The copy writing for websites and emails is now more engaging, resulting in
more sales, already $1,000 saving by not using a professional copywriter.”
Copywriting for Business, attended in 2014
“Since and due to the training, we have kept an injured worker at work completing
modified duties, rather than off work on workers compensation payments which affect the
workers wellbeing, the productivity at that work site, and that state's insurance premium.
It's also saved us considerable time having all the advice ready at hand, and no need to
seek legal support if the staff relationship crumbled. I would put a flat rate on this of
$5,000 but expect to make plenty more savings in the years to come.”
Human Resource Management for NFPs, attended in 2014
| 13
#4 What is the multifaceted impact of professional
development?
There is a lack of understanding about the actual effects of professional development on the
employees who work in Australian NFP organisations and the purpose they serve. Impact
narratives provide perspectives and experiences and generate breadth and depth to identify key
actors, explain processes, describe critical events, and illustrate utility.
Between 3-12 months after individuals participated in a training intervention they were asked to
narrate an array of key learnings, their intentions and attempts to apply them, and the effects of
these actions, including quantitative attributions when feasible.
The rich data describe a plethora of benefits attributed to the professional development received,
including: achieving more goals as individual and organisation, recovering budgets, higher
confidence, better staff selection, training co-workers, added community awareness, saving time,
enhanced well-being, increasing funding, enriched staff communication, fundamental strategic
decisions, volunteer attraction, and more.
Quantitative attributions have been made inconsistently (i.e. “too early to say”), yet range between
nil and saving $300,000 from the budget and 20% of staff time due to the training received. A
range of excerpts illustrates the multifaceted impact of professional development.
The vast majority of impact narratives provided reflect multifaceted, positive, and
often powerful outcomes that are attributed to the professional development
experience.
33% of surveyed
senior
executives
have no
access to a
designated
budget for
professional
development
Sources for funding professional development
Barriers that prevent
engagement with professional
development
3.25 1.33 3.87 3.82 3.56 3.83 3.36Operating / Core
budget
2.29 1.00 2.84 2.94 3.67 2.83 3.21 Unit / Team budget
4.13 3.33 2.60 3.06 2.70 2.67 2.79 Personal investment
3.43 1.00 2.61 2.64 2.56 3.00 3.07 Project budget
2.71 1.75 2.38 2.20 2.50 3.17 3.60Human resource
development budget
2.63 1.67 2.44 2.50 2.25 3.00 2.21 External grants
2.14 2.00 2.47 2.71 2.70 2.67 1.93 External scholarships
1.67 1.00 1.75 1.80 1.50 3.00 1.67 Other
< $250k $1m $5m $10m $20m $50m $50m+
never
rare
ly
som
etim
e
often
alw
ays
16.63
12.38
23.02
18.78
21.27
18.31
18.31
16.70
organisational size (by turnover)
| 15
#5 What are the barriers for professional development in
the NFP sector?
Members of NFP organisations who seek to engage in professional development may be
challenged by a range of different factors. Anecdotal evidence suggests that decision makers,
funders, and policy makers often consider training and education activities as overhead, too
costly, time-consuming and peripheral24. This is a first exploration.
Analysis of funding sources for human resource development within NFP organisations suggests
that typically the operational core budget covers the majority of professional development costs.
However, the available data does not allow to discern whether the budget is simply designated for
these costs or ‘the money must come from somewhere’.
Strikingly though, only very large organisations with substantial turnover (>$20m) appear to
employ a designated budget for human resource development. On the contrary, smaller
organisations typically source their professional development from project budgets and external
grants. A remarkable finding suggests that small NFPs (<$1m) require professional development
mainly to be covered through personal financial investment.
Indeed, even for senior executives in the NFP sector the lack of financial resources is identified as
the primary barrier to engage with professional development. For more than half of the
respondents this is problematic or very problematic. In fact, 33% have no access to a designated
budget for their own professional development. Equally problematic, too much work and the lack
of time to engage with professional development are identified as considerable issues.
Other notable challenges include: a deficit of relevant course offerings, impractical
locations/remoteness, lack of organisational or managerial support, and uncertainty about
personal professional development needs.
The lack of money and time appear to be the prevailing barriers that hold back the
Australian NFP sector and its people to engage with professional development
activities.
Oth
er
Adv
ocac
y an
d Pub
lic P
olicy
Volun
teer
Man
agem
ent
Attr
actio
n an
d Ret
entio
n of
Peo
ple
Gov
erna
nce
Risk
Man
agem
ent a
nd L
egal Is
sues
Fina
ncial M
anag
emen
t and
Non
prof
it Acc
ount
ing
Org
anisat
iona
l Cultu
re
Stra
tegy
Talent
Dev
elop
men
t and
Skills
Fund
raising
Prin
cipl
es a
nd P
ractices
Pro
gram
/Ser
vice
Des
ign
and
Impl
emen
tatio
n
Lead
ersh
ip o
f Peo
ple
Man
agem
ent o
f res
ourc
es a
nd sta
keho
lder
s
Out
com
e/Im
pact M
easu
rem
ent a
nd E
valu
ation
mean $ 1,029 4,996 5,279 6,039 6,183 6,293 7,588 8,477 9,162 9,626 11,072 12,812 13,062 13,265 15,677
1% 4% 4% 5% 5% 5% 6% 6% 7% 7% 8% 10% 10% 10% 12%
Under $ 250k
2% 7% 7% 5% 4% 4% 6% 5% 5% 8% 10% 9% 6% 12% 8%
$250k to $1m
0% 7% 3% 0% 9% 7% 15% 0% 6% 0% 21% 0% 16% 0% 14%
$1m to $5m
1% 5% 5% 4% 8% 6% 6% 5% 7% 6% 9% 9% 8% 7% 13%
$5m to $10m
1% 2% 3% 3% 3% 4% 9% 7% 5% 6% 6% 16% 7% 12% 18%
$10m to $20m
0% 3% 3% 2% 3% 6% 4% 8% 4% 12% 12% 9% 13% 10% 10%
$20m to $50m
0% 2% 3% 9% 5% 4% 2% 7% 14% 7% 3% 9% 10% 12% 13%
$50m+
2% 2% 2% 8% 2% 3% 3% 11% 9% 9% 5% 8% 15% 14% 8%
Culture and
Recreation
0% 8% 0% 4% 1% 11% 5% 9% 2% 4% 5% 3% 10% 14% 25%
Education and
Research
1% 3% 4% 5% 7% 5% 6% 5% 8% 7% 13% 8% 8% 10% 9%
Health
0% 3% 3% 3% 5% 5% 3% 7% 9% 10% 12% 6% 12% 9% 14%
Social Services
0% 4% 5% 5% 3% 5% 7% 9% 6% 6% 5% 12% 12% 10% 13%
Environment
4% 5% 6% 0% 5% 2% 17% 0% 4% 9% 13% 18% 8% 0% 11%
Development and
Housing
3% 11% 1% 1% 0% 8% 0% 0% 18% 5% 12% 12% 0% 14% 14%
Law, Advocacy and
Politics
3% 10% 7% 7% 0% 3% 7% 7% 3% 11% 8% 7% 8% 8% 10%
International
0% 0% 0% 8% 2% 1% 7% 7% 15% 15% 8% 8% 2% 25% 2%
Religion
0% 0% 0% 0% 14% 13% 15% 0% 17% 0% 0% 16% 14% 0% 12%
Not Elsewhere
Classified
0% 1% 4% 6% 9% 2% 5% 6% 11% 8% 7% 9% 9% 13% 11%
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
Needs for professional development of key competencies
| 17
#6 What are the needs for developing key competencies in
the NFP sector?
Currently no comprehensive framework exists that allows estimating the presence of and need
for key competencies in the Australian NFP sector. Policy makers, training providers, funders,
and other stakeholders may be seriously out of alignment with the actual requirements of the NFP
labour force. The profound absence of reliable information regarding specific learning needs
makes systematic capacity building impossible.
A first exploration of needs for professional development was realised through NFP senior
executives’ distribution of a fictional budget to 14 key competencies, proportional allocation of
funds were then normalised, and further stratified by organisational size and purpose (see ICNPO).
On the whole, findings indicate the great importance of developing competence relating to
1) outcome/impact measurement and evaluation; 2) leadership of people and management of
resources and stakeholders; 3) program/service design and implementation; 4) fundraising
principles and practices; 5) talent development and skills; and 6) strategy.
Other needs ranking lower relate to developing knowledge and skills for building organisational
culture; financial management and NFP-specific accounting, risk management and legal issues;
governance; attraction and retention of people; management of volunteers; and advocacy and
public policy.
A simple ranking is insufficient however, as detailed analysis suggests areas of importance are
subject to e.g. organisational purpose (e.g. housing sector>strategy; environment>program design;
culture>impact measurement), and trends relating to organisational size (e.g. small>fundraising;
medium>impact evaluation; large>leadership).
The Australian NFP sector shows significant variation regarding: What key
competencies are needed, where are they needed, and for whom? To inform policy,
support schemes, and development offerings, a large national study is required to
generate granular data that can be reliably stratified by state, sub-sector, employee
level etc.
| 19
Discussion
Not-for-Profit organisations are main actors in Australian society and markets: their numbers,
importance, and impact is dramatically on the rise. Yet, they also increasingly face significant
challenges, many of which can be mastered through competent people however. An effective work
force equals an effective sector.
Paradoxically we know very little about the state and management of key competencies and their
professional development in the Australian NFP sector. The present research made initial progress
by exploring and illustrating important issues and testing fundamental hypotheses. Importantly, it
was found that professional development of key competencies has significant, positive effects for
NFP organisations, their members, and the purpose they serve. It may thus be argued that
professional development systematically contributes to the creation of social change.
It was also found that varying levels of professional development activity are associated with
organisational and staff characteristics. Indeed, a range of barriers inhibit the development of key
competencies, mainly the lack of funding and time. Meanwhile, initial exploration suggests a need
for increased professional development with trends linked to particular features of the sector.
This preliminary report brought together information and highlighted tendencies that may assist
practitioners, policy makers, and researchers in further addressing social change. It is also relevant
to NFP leaders and donors as funding strategies typically focus on programs and services, but are
less concerned with funding the development of skills and talent actually required. The message to
all is: professional development is not accidental or something that can be postponed but to be
considered as a deliberate element that every NFP organisation must realise.
In the context of social and economic implications it is critical that any capacity building occurs
according to the sector’s needs and through the most efficient and effective means. Empirical
evidence and expert advice need to inform and precede actions, or decisions and resources invested
will be misunderstood, open to easy criticism and de-legitimised as optional.
A supporting agenda of applied research is thus proposed to ensure that Australia will be able to
meet the expected growth of the NFP sector and that it will be provided with the key competencies
it needs. Future research (pending funding) seeks to:
a) Chart the needs and barriers to develop NFP key competencies on a national scale
b) Understand how these key competencies can be effectively and efficiently developed
c) Facilitate NFP stakeholders, policy and mechanisms that support capacity building
d) Continue to evaluate and demonstrate the impact of professional development schemes
Methodology & References
Data relating to research questions 1, 2, 5, and 6 was obtained in Q3/2014 from 103 senior
executives (43% CEO, 22% director, 11% head of unit, 9% founder), each associated with a unique
NFP organisation in Australia, generating a reasonable representative sample: ICNPO, markets,
location, size, turnover - see ABS data1). An online-survey (28% response rate) collected factual
data if feasible; while the absence of agreed standard measures required other variables (e.g.
organisational performance) to be assessed by the respondent using Likert-type scales25.
Procedural means and control means were employed to reduce measurement error and mono-
method bias. Construct reliability is excellent: α=.87-.93. Statistical significance for correlations
and regressions reported is p<.01.
Data relating to research questions 3 and 4 was obtained between 2012 and 2014 via online-surveys
from individuals working or volunteering for an Australian NFP organisation, and experiencing a
formal professional development event (e.g. training, conference). Control group data with
reasonable comparable characteristics was obtained from individuals not experiencing the event.
Before the event there was no significant difference between development and control groups on
any lead indicator, allowing to attribute change to given development experience. Impact narratives
presented have been chosen from over 500 responses to reflect breadth of competencies and
experiences.
| 21
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Learning for Purpose: Researching the Social Return on Education and
Training in the Australian Not-for-Profit Sector - Preliminary Research Report