Why Non Government Organisations (NGOs) need information
Increasingly, there is an expectation that people will want to know more about the services that a community agency is providing and how effective they are.
NGOs need information to manage, plan and develop the services they provide so we can confidently answer questions such as:
- How do we know we are doing a good job?
- How do we know we are doing the right job?
- Are we making a difference?
The collection of quality information by NGOs will help build an evidence base which can be used to support a research and evaluation based approach to recovery practices.
Without complete NGO data, there can be no comprehensive picture of the contribution community agencies are making to New Zealand society. The health and disability sector continues to increase its investment into the collection and reporting of information in a response to the demand for better information on which to base service improvements and in response to increased accountability requirements to the people who use the services, the organisation's governing boards and to the funders.
The following paper discusses the possible opportunities for the mental health and addiction NGO sector in relation to key information initiatives:
Link to paper "Metrics that Matter"
