We use our business expertise to to support the social sector in the following ways:

• we support innovative nonprofits in building toward their next phase of growth.
• we support systems change initiatives within large public agencies, nonprofits, foundations and collaboratives.
• we help organizations incorporate measurement and evaluation to support social change.
• we invest in initiatives that increase resident and client voice in change.

​The Capacity Group and our Team Insights division have worked with a broad range of clients on projects including: 
business planning
organizational development
collective impact
program development
strategy development
community needs assessments
policy briefs
strategic planning
outcome measurement and evaluation
​
We have also worked in a broad range of sectors 
youth development
education
community and economic development
affordable housing
basic needs
the environment
arts and culture
child welfare
health
library and literacy initiatives
social enterprise
workforce development

---

Our In-House Research

Below are research briefs we created for the sector. To sign up for our quarterly research briefs click here.

• Preparing the Sector for New Expectations 
• Nonprofit Business Planning for a New Era
• The Power of Multiple Stakeholder Engagement in Decision Making

Our latest research brief is focused on the new expectations foundation, nonprofit and public sector leaders can expect to face in the coming decade. Many of the issues foundations and nonprofits have been been tackling over the past decade, such as measurement and collaboration, will still apply, but there will be a host of new expectations as well. This research brief covers some of those new expectations to help prepare sector leaders. 
​
​Below are recent policy briefs and needs assessments created for our clients:
Preventing Truancy and Chronic Absenteeism
RI Statewide Needs Assessment - Basic Needs 

Relevant News and Research
Shared Value and Collective Impact  
Mark Kramer and John Kania's framework for collective impact has sparked a lot of recent discussion on how to best achieve meaningful social change. At the same time Michael Porter and Mark Kramer have joined together to share the concept of shared value - a new approach to business engagement with community needs.  
Click here to read about Shared Value
Click here to read about Collective Impact

Recent Clients

United Way of Rhode Island
College Unbound
One Neighborhood Builders - Health Equity Zone
Rhode Island Department of Higher Education
Working Cities
Newport Partnership for Families
Rhode Island Community Action Association 
Social Enterprise Greenhouse
Youth In Action
Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council
Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families
Parent Support Network
Youth At Risk Coalition
Opera House/Newport Performing Arts Center
Community Works Rhode Island
Rhode Island Department of Education
Domestic Violence Resource Center of South County
Women's Resource Center
Recycle A Bike
The Met School
Newport Public Schools
RiverzEdge Arts
United Way of Greater Waterbury
Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center
Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Bike Newport 
East Bay Community Action Association
Aquidneck Land Trust
FabNewport  

CONTACT US TO LEARN MORE

Sector Resources We Recommend
Stanford Social Innovation Review
Harvard Business Review Weekly Update
Council on Foundations
Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship
Harvard Family Research Project
KIDS COUNT
Pew Charitable Trust
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 
Annie E. Casey Foundation
FSG
The Aspen Institute
Feedback Lab

​Helpful Tools
​
​Loomio
The Capacity Group is just beginning to use Loomio, a new online conversation tool that we believe can really help to drive more collaborative decision making in organizations. Stay tuned as we share our progress and use cases. In the meantime click here to find out more about Loomio. 

​Evaluating Complexity
Some community needs take a broad range of partners and significant time, research and trial and error to address. FSG recently released a useful framework for embedding evaluation into collaborative approaches to meeting complex community needs. At The Capacity Group were are using this framework and are blending it with our own collective impact rubric, and incorporating an adaptive leadership and empowerment lens. Click here to read FSG's report on evaluating complexity. ​

​

​Contact Us for a Consultation

​Dr. Julie DiBari
401-248-4985
julie@thecapacitygroup.org