We’ve been through some exciting times with evaluation in philanthropy over the past decade. A multitude of factors converged to both propel the imperative to evaluate and at the same time, to open up the space to look at evaluation in a different light. How thrilling it was (yes, there is thrill in evaluation!) when the limits of traditional evaluation thinking and methods to inform philanthropic efforts gave way to new definitions. Evaluation evolved to include the ability to generate learning and build capacity to improve, rather than just prove what was working and what was not. It invigorated evaluation with a whole new approach in enabling a balance of science and art in asking a broad constituency for input, understanding results, and interpreting them in an appropriate context.
Fast forward to now, and we see some dramatic changes in how we think about evaluation. We know that without strategic and effective organizations (whether the funder or an applicant/grant recipient), good intentions and programmatic efforts yield limited results. The work of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and Centre for Effective Philanthropy focus on the organizational effectiveness of funders. Their efforts have helped funders strengthen their governance, their responsiveness, programs, and operations.
So given the dramatic growth of evaluation in philanthropy, what have we learned to help improve our knowledge and practice? Here are a few things we have learned:
Continue reading ‘Evaluation – three lessons about the things that really count’
