Can a Multi-Criteria Methodology Fit with Non-Profit Institutions’ Decision-Making? An Application in a Spanish Non-Profit Association

The 2008 crisis occurred in Spain while the Social Economy was undergoing a process of development and transformation to meet growing demand. The new stage uncovered organizational inefficiency in the Social Economy’s institutions that might put at riskh8 their survival and highlighted new challenges that these organizations had to face. It was necessary to move towards a strategic model that would allow them to respond more swiftly and effectively to external shocks without renouncing the values and principles of the Social Economy. This paper analyzes the effects of the 2008 crisis on the institutions of the Spanish non-profit sector and suggests a methodology to help them decide between different affordable future strategies. We use a multi-criteria decision-making methodology to carry out a case study focused on a non-profit association, whose main goal is to take care of disabled people. We show how to help the association make decisions in an efficient, rigorous and democratic way.