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Washington D.C. — The Corporation for National and Community Service announced today that Robert T. Grimm, Jr. will become acting director of its Department of Research and Policy Development.
Grimm will replace David Reingold, who will be returning to Indiana University-Bloomington to be an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs. Reingold assembled and has led the research unit since its creation in 2002.
The Department of Research and Policy Development works with the Corporation’s Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America program offices to establish performance measures and accountability systems, conducts and oversees evaluations, and is responsible for program guidance, new program development, and policy formulation.
A key focus of the department has been performance measurement – revamping grantee performance indicators to focus more on outcomes such as improvements in reading scores and increased self-sufficiency, rather than on outputs such as numbers of students tutored or projects run.
“Bob Grimm is the right person to move us forward on our ambitious research agenda, especially in the key area of performance measurement,” said Corporation CEO David Eisner. “While we know our programs achieve results, we can and must do a better job of measuring them. We’ve made enormous progress in performance measurement under David Reingold’s leadership. With his strong research background and experience working with programs, Bob Grimm will help take us to the next level.”
Eisner cited Grimm’s research background in nonprofit management as a valuable asset in another Corporation emphasis area – volunteer leveraging. Since coming to the Corporation in August 2002, Grimm has worked on two national studies on volunteerism and volunteer management. The first was assisting the Census bureau in an annual collection of data looking at the demographics, activities, and motivations of volunteers. The second was a comprehensive national study, released in February, on the volunteer management capacity and practices of U.S. charities and congregations. In recent years, the Corporation has placed increasing emphasis on the mobilization and management of community volunteers by national service programs as a way to increase community impact and strengthen the nonprofit sector.
Grimm holds a Ph.D. in History and a M.A. degree in nonprofit management and philanthropy from Indiana University. Grimm has researched and written on a variety of topics, including nonprofit management, public policy, and charitable behaviors. In 2002, he published a book on the American philanthropic tradition, Notable American Philanthropists: Biographies of Giving and Volunteering (London and Westport, CT: Greenwood Press). A former Earhart Fellow, he has been a professor and taught graduate and executive education courses in nonprofit management and public policy at Indiana University and other higher education institutions and been a consultant for numerous nonprofits.
Eisner thanked Reingold for his leadership of the Department of Research and Policy Development, calling the office “an engine of innovation and improvement for the Corporation and our programs.” Reingold came to the Corporation in January 2002 on a leave of absence from Indiana University-Bloomington and is returning to the university to teach courses on program evaluation, nonprofit management, and urban policy. Reingold holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of Chicago and has worked with several state, local, and private entities to improve welfare and housing services.
The Corporation for National and Community Service provides opportunities for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country through three programs: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. Together with the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation is working to build a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility in America. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.
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