Industry
Nonprofits, Foundations
Our Role
- Applied Research
- Data Analysis
- Strategy Formulation
Situation
The Forbes Funds, a Pittsburgh-based foundation focused on increasing capacity within and among the region’s nonprofits, commissioned The Hill Group to conduct a study of the human service delivery system in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, to determine if there were opportunities to enhance the system’s capacity.
Solution
The findings of this study outline significant potential cost savings for both public and nonprofit organizations. Researchers recommended that human service providers consider adopting the Service Integration Model that provides a mechanism for nonprofit agencies to take steps to collaborate and share non-mission critical services and functions. It suggests that collaboration between nonprofits might be facilitated by their proximity and similarity in customer base or mission.
Results
- Identified opportunities to increase human services capacity within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
- Proposed a scenario in which the Allegheny County Department of Human Services potentially could save 15 percent of its budget through service clustering while maintaining service levels and enhancing service quality. This would mitigate the risk of potential federal and state budget cuts, while maintaining current levels of service and client choice
- Acted as a catalyst for dialogue around service clustering at the Forbes Funds’ 2005 Nonprofit Sector Research Conference and Awards Ceremony
Behind the Scenes
Researchers utilized primary and secondary data sources to complete this study. The supply-demand continuum of human services delivery in Allegheny County was studied using geographic information systems (GIS) overlaid with client and provider databases. The National Nonprofit Research Database and Guidestar National Nonprofit Database were used to examine the financial characteristics of nonprofit human services organizations in Allegheny County. The Hill Group’s research team also conducted structured interviews with representatives of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services and numerous nonprofit direct service providers.