R.A.T.E.S. Organizational Development

R.A.T.E.S. Organizational development proved to be a valuable tool for first getting participants to have a universally understood platform for a standard of assessment, planning, capacity building and operation. Those who operate according to the R.A.T.E.S. principles are easier to receive targeted technical assistance which helps them to build and sustain stronger programs.

We could be confident that those organizations that understand and operate according to the R.A.T.E.S. principles would at least have a foundation that we could all build upon. We could also communicate our practices according to the language of R.A.T.E.S. to help determine where each participating organization would fit into each other’s efforts. This greatly supports effective grant proposal writing.

Each R.A.T.E.S. principle is described as follows:

Response-ability is having and demonstrating the ability to give a favorable response to problems and needs. This includes the needs of the client, staff, partners, donors and the organization as a whole. Learning Goal: Learn to develop the fundamental elements for problem and basic needs statements. Participants will first learn a technique to focus upon a specific problem to eliminate. This process is designed to encourage and demonstrate commitment to make a measurable improvement in society. Then the needs statements will be developed with projected solutions for meeting those needs.

Account-ability is having and demonstrating the ability to account for program and fiscal activities along with associated resources. Learning Goal: Learn to develop a basic intake and attendance form to account for a client’s qualification to participate in a program and to prove the level of participation. This lesion will also cover the development of budget summary and elements of a budget narrative to explain expenses.

Technical-ability is having and demonstrating the ability to apply technology in order to maximize productivity. It also includes having the ability to engage the technical communication, practices and policies that govern an area of interest. Learning Goal: Learn how to assess and plan technological support according to needs. This lesson will address basic internet communications and tips for developing a basic client and resource support database.

Evaluation-ability is having and demonstrating the ability to engage an independent and unbiased evaluator who will assess the strengths and challenges of your organization and related projects. The results of the evaluations will help develop strategies for ongoing improvements. The techniques for planning an evaluation will also help strengthen program structure and efficiency Learning Goal: Learn how to plan an evaluation strategy to demonstrate project and organizational outcomes. Learn the basic elements for developing a logic model to demonstrate the elements that will be evaluated.

Sustain-ability is having and demonstrating the ability to continue providing support and development for your organization through diverse and effective resource and revenue development activities. Learning Goal: Learn about types of contributions and partnerships to consider for donor and resource development.