Calculating program capacity using the concept of active service slot

This paper describes a new measure of effective program capacity, termed ‘active service slots’, that one foundation created to calculate the social return on its grantmaking investments in youth programming. Rather than use turnstile figures to assess program capacity, the authors argue that it makes sense to take into account the level and duration of a person's participation in one or multiple service programs. Thus, ‘active service slots’ represent the position in a program occupied by a participant receiving the appropriate type and level of service(s) called for in the program's theory of change. In this way, active service slots can provide an organization with a measure of its effective program capacity by allowing it to review the ‘flow’ of individuals through its program slots and determine whether it is managing its programs effectively (that is, with the likelihood that participants will benefit as intended) and efficiently. The authors describe how organizations can use active service slot data to inform operations and improve performance.