Board certified: Learning how to govern from the experts

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Sara M Johnson

nonprofit board, executive education, effective nonprofit governance

Public service is important and over the last 30 years has evolved beyond just describing government careers. Many people are motivated to volunteer on the “front lines” and even donate money to worthy and favorite causes, especially at year end.

And, as critical to the sector as these activities are, serving as a nonprofit board member can be even more important. A board member’s role includes fiduciary responsibility, potential for conflicts of interest, oversight of an executive director, and a responsibility to those the organization serves.

In her book, “Five Life Stages of Nonprofit Organizations,” author Judy Sharken Simon defines governance as, “… the legal authority responsible for guarding the organization’s adherence to its mission and ensuring its long-term stability and operations in order to do so.” As organizations move through the five stages, Sharken Simon also describes the phase of governance that characteristically accompanies these five developmental stages. She accurately applies an existing concept of organizational development — the organizational life cycle to nonprofits. (more…)

SPEA, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy to host NGO leaders from Africa

Posted on December 15, 2017 by O'Neill at IUPUI

The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI have been selected as the inaugural hosts of the Ford Foundation–funded ARNOVA-AROCSA NGO Leadership Transition Fellowship Program (LTFP) in Africa. The fellowship will allow 10 senior NGO leaders from Southern and West Africa to spend the spring 2018 semester in Indianapolis engaged with faculty in philanthropic studies and nonprofit management as well as civically engaged Hoosiers.

The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) and the Association for Research on Civil Society in Africa (AROCSA) bring together scholars and practitioners interested in advancing research on nonprofit, NGOs, philanthropy and civil society and strengthening professional practice in those fields.

The NGO leaders will use their semester in Indiana to write and reflect on their careers as change makers, broaden their networks through meetings with civic and academic leaders in Indiana, and prepare for a new chapter in their careers – as professors of practice in African universities, where they will take on new teaching, research, and other leadership roles that will allow them to impart their lessons learned in the field to a new generation of students of philanthropic studies and nonprofit management. In addition, each fellow will write a reflection on their work that will be compiled and published as a resource for emerging African civil society leaders. (more…)

Review shows program for offenders with mental health or addiction issues produces positive results

Posted on November 29, 2017 by rcschnei

A review of a state program launched two years ago to improve recovery and reduce recidivism among felony offenders who have mental health or addiction issues shows the program is producing positive results.

“There are a lot of individuals in the criminal justice system who have a mental health or substance-abuse problem who are now getting the additional services they need,” said Brad Ray, co-author of the review. Ray is an assistant professor in the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI and director of the Center for Criminal Justice Research.

The Center for Criminal Justice Research, part of the IU Public Policy Institute, conducted the review of Recovery Works for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction, which manages Recovery Works. (more…)

SPEA’s Justice and Pre-Law Community gives first-year students resources to succeed

Posted on November 15, 2017 by O'Neill at IUPUI

When Edward Hansen arrived at IUPUI in the fall of 2013, he knew he wanted to get the most out of his first year of college. For him, signing up to live in SPEA’s Justice and Pre-Law Wing was a no-brainer.

“It was a lot easier to meet friends when you not only have them as your neighbors but they’re in your class and so I developed relationships a lot faster than just living in a random living community,” said Hansen, who will graduate with a Master of Science in Criminal Justice and Public Safety in May 2018 as part of SPEA’s accelerated master’s program.

“You will develop relationships, but if you’re in the SPEA wing, you’re going to develop friendships much faster with other students who share your common interests.”

SPEA’s Justice and Pre-Law (JPL) Wing is a co-ed learning community located in University Tower and offers double and triple rooms for first-year students interested in social justice and pre-law topics such as the legal system, law enforcement, homeland security, and socioeconomics. The JPL wing is one of 12 residential-based learning communities on campus. (more…)

Study identifies additional hurdle to widespread planting of bioenergy crops

Posted on November 2, 2017 by rcschnei

Jerome Dumortier, switchgrass — SPEA researcher Jerome Dumortier says bioenergy crops like switchgrass are less likely to be produced in the Midwest.

A study examining how certain decisions impact what farmers plant and harvest identified one crucial factor that researchers believe needs to be added to the list of decision variables when considering bioenergy crops: the option value.

Most studies have not examined the role of the option value, which has to do with farmers waiting to see how bioenergy crop prices will change in the future, said Jerome Dumortier, an associate professor in the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI and a co-author of the study.

The study, “Production and spatial distribution of switchgrass and miscanthus in the United States under uncertainty and sunk cost,” was published in the journal Energy Economics and is one of the first to consider adding the option value to the list of barriers to widespread planting of bioenergy crops. It also shows the spatial distribution of potential bioenergy crops in the U.S. when considering the option value. (more…)