We often forget that religious and spiritual institutions are like all other organisations, they need to be highly organised to be effective. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. More often than not religious and spiritual institutions are so focused on their mission that they fail to take care of the "business" basics--funding, pastoral care, and outreach to potential new members: consequently, they are not as effective as they might be. Sometimes, the focus on religious beliefs, rather than values, prevents religious institutions from collaborating with each other.
Carrying out a values assessment can help in two ways. First, it provides information on what is working and not working in the organisation, and secondly it surfaces the values that are at the core of the institution. Collaboration around shared values is much easier to organise than collaboration around beliefs.
Example of Cultural Values Assessment for a Spiritual Institution