Capacity assessments

A capacity assessment rates an organisation that applies to you, such as a sub-grantee, on its governance, finances and other capacity. Two people score it on their own: a staff scorer and the portfolio lead. Neither sees the other's scores until both have submitted. Backed then shows the two side by side, flags each question where they differ by too much, and the portfolio lead reconciles them into one score per question and a rating.

A capacity assessment is for an applicant registered as an organisation. An individual can't be assessed.

Before you start

• You need a capacity template: an Assessment template marked Capacity assessment, with at least one scored question. See Set up a capacity template.
• To start an assessment you need permission to manage assessments. To see an organisation's Capacity tab you need permission to view applicants.

Set up a capacity template

1. Go to Plan > Form templates, open the Assessments tab and build the form as any assessment form, scoring each question. See Assessment templates.
2. Open the template with View. Under Capacity assessment, tick Capacity assessment.
3. Set the Divergence threshold (% of a criterion's maximum). A question is flagged when the two scores differ by more than this share of its highest score. The default is 20 %, so on a question scored out of 10 a difference of more than 2 is flagged.
4. Add the Rating bands. Each band has a Label and From (% of the total). The first band starts at 0 % and each band starts above the one before, for example Developing from 0, Established from 50 and Strong from 80.
5. Select Save capacity settings.

A capacity template is offered only when you start a capacity assessment. An assessment round can't use one: it never appears on the round's Template step, and a round whose form is marked Capacity assessment later can't be saved or published until you choose another form.

Once a capacity assessment uses the template, its threshold, bands and Capacity assessment tick can't change, and its scored questions can't be deleted. Duplicate the template to change them.

Start a capacity assessment

1. Go to Applications > Applicants and open the organisation's record.
2. Open the Capacity tab and select Start capacity assessment.
3. Choose the Capacity template. Every capacity template with a scored question is listed.
4. Choose the Staff scorer and the Portfolio lead. Each list shows the first 20 administrators by name; to find someone else, type part of their name or email address in Find a staff scorer or Find a portfolio lead. Both must be administrators of your organisation, and they must be two different people.
5. Select Start.

Each scorer gets a Score a capacity assessment task under My Tasks that opens the assessment.

Score as a named scorer

1. Open the task, or the assessment from the organisation's Capacity tab.
2. Under Your scores, give each question a Score, from 0 to its highest score, and an optional Note.
3. Select Save to keep your scores and come back later. A score you clear is removed when you save.
4. Select Submit, then Submit scores. Every question needs a score first: Submit names any question still blank.

Scores are final once submitted. You can see your own scores at any time, but nothing of the other scorer's scores, notes or total until both of you have submitted. Anyone else who opens the assessment sees only whether each scorer has submitted.

Compare the scores

Once both have submitted, the assessment is Scored and shows the two sets of scores side by side: each question with the staff scorer's score and note, the portfolio lead's, and the difference. A question whose scores differ by more than the threshold is flagged Divergent.

Reconcile

The portfolio lead, or an administrator who may manage assessments, reconciles the assessment.

1. Under Reconcile, enter the Reconciled score for each question.
2. Give a Reason for each question flagged Divergent. A reconcile without one is refused.
3. Select Reconcile.

Backed adds up the reconciled scores, with each question's weight, and gives the total the rating of the band it falls in.

The rating and the trail

The organisation's Capacity tab lists each assessment, newest first, with its template, scorers, the date it started, its status (Open, Scored or Reconciled) and its rating.

A reconciled assessment is read-only. It shows both independent scores, the flags, the reconciled scores and their reasons, the total and the rating with its band, and a Trail: who started it and when, when each scorer submitted, and who reconciled it and when.

See also

• Assessment templates
• Applicants