| While evaluation has traditionally been a tool to PROVE if a grantee did what it said it would, or if a project or program it succeeded or failed, more and more grantmakers are moving towards an approach to evaluation that focuses on how to IMPROVE both the work of grantees and of the grantmakers themselves. GEO's interest in evaluation is in this latter area-- building the evaluative capacity of nonprofits and using evaluation as a tool for learning and performance improvement. The following resources seek to provide background and illustrate practices of evaluation in philanthropy from within this framework. For a fuller list of resources related to evaluation, please search GEO's content database. |
"Evaluation in philanthropy is systematic information-gathering and research about grantmaker-supported activities that informs learning and drives improvement. Evaluation includes both intentional learning about the results of a grantmaker's work and applied research on supported projects."
-- Grantmakers for Effective Organizations |
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- The Challenge of Assessing Policy and Advocacy Activities Part II - Moving From Theory to Practice. How can grantmakers and their grantees evaluate and show that they're making a difference through their policy and advocacy work? This report, based on a convening of advocates, foundation staff and evaluators hosted by The California Endowment, provides recommendations for conducting and interpreting evaluations of programs in health policy and other advocacy arenas. October 2006.
- Drowning in Data. In the frenzy over accountability, funders, donors, and the general public are calling for more program evaluation. Without sufficient knowledge or funding, nonprofits are often collecting heaps of dubious data, at great cost to themselves and ultimately to the people they serve. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fall 2006.
- The Evaluation Conversation. Patti Patrizi discusses strategies for engaging in a process of "evaluative inquiry" in which grantmakers move beyond the traditional focus on metrics to make ongoing, collaborative inquiry the center of grantmaking practice. August 2006.
Evaluation As A Pathway to Learning
by William H. Woodwell
published by GEO, 2005, 24 pages.
Informed by the work of the 2005 Evaluation Roundtable, examines current topics in philanthropic evaluation and showcases the evaluation approaches of several grantmakers, both large and small. Explores the link between evaluation and grantmaking and contains tips on how to incorporate a results orientatation into your organization's work without making a large investment. Free PDF. Hard copies available for purchase. (GEO members receive discount.)
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A Funder's Guide to Evaluation: Leveraging Evaluation to Improve Nonprofit Effectiveness by Peter York
Co-published by GEO and the Fieldstone Alliance, 2005, 160 pages, $41.95.
Traditionally, funders expect evaluation to show that resources are being used wisely. But evaluation can be a much more powerful tool — for both funders and nonprofits. Forward-looking grantmakers and grantees are ensuring that the time and money spent on evaluation improves effectiveness for everyone.
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The Inside Perspective: An assessment of the current state of the evaluation field, by Patricia Patrizi, summarizes the 2002 findings of the Evaluation Roundtable on the state of evaluation in philanthropy.
Access archived issues of GEO's RESULTS e-newsletter on evaluation.
Evaluation Terminology, a glossary of evaluation terms presented at GEO's 2002 national conference.
Evaluation at the James Irvine Foundation:
Evaluation at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Evaluation at the Lumina Foundation for Education:
Evaluation at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:
2003 Evaluation Roundtable Materials. In October 2003, GEO participated in the meeting of the Evaluation Roundtable on foundation-wide evaluation.
Funder's Guide to Evaluation: Readiness Worksheets. This tool developed by Peter York asks funders a series of questions and provides responses that are necessary to fully support grantees’ evaluative learning. [Note: non-members who have purchased the book A Funder's Guide to Evaluation may access these worksheets from www.fieldstonealliance.org/worksheets. You'll find the access code at the beginning of the Appendix in the book.]
W. K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbook is guided by the belief that evaluation should be supportive and responsive to projects, rather than become an end in itself. It provides a framework for thinking about evaluation as a relevant and useful program tool. It is written primarily for project directors who have direct responsibility for the ongoing evaluation projects. See also their Logic Model Development Guide.
Cluster Evaluation: An Annotated Bibliography
This annotated bibliography is part of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) Evaluation Unit’s effort to consolidate our knowledge about conducting cluster and initiative evaluations. The references for the annotated bibliography came from a variety of sources: journal articles, book chapters, articles from clearing houses and web-sites, brochures, and internal documents from the WKKF. It was designed to go beyond the traditional annotated bibliography format by describing each reference in enough detail so the readers can really capture the major arguments presented by the authors.
When and How to Use External Evaluators is designed for program officers fairly new to evaluation who might be called upon to advise grantees about contracting an external evaluator or to directly commission evaluations on behalf of their foundations. This publication was developed from material presented at GEO's 2002 national conference.
The Drucker Foundation Self-Assessment Tool: Process Guide and Participant Workbook
Since its original publication in 1993, the best-selling Drucker Foundation Self-Assessment Tool has helped and inspired countless nonprofit boards, executives and teams to rediscover the direction and potential of their organizations. This completely revised edition of the Self-Assessment Tool combines long-range planning and strategic marketing with a passion for dispersed leadership. It allows an organization to plan for results, to learn from its customers, and to release the energy of its people to further its mission.
UN Foundation's Grant Ranking Tool
The United Nations Foundation's attempt to use limited resources to rank their grants. This grant ranking tool rates grants based on six criteria: results/impact, program innovation, UN Agency capacity, public affairs, and financial efficiency. The Tool assigns a score for each category based on a set of criteria, and those scores are used to compute a ranking.
Building Capacity through Evaluative Learning (RESULTS October 2005)
Evaluation is a crosscutting capacity-building tool that, when used appropriately and effectively by nonprofit organizations, can serve to improve organizational adaptability, leadership, and management, as well as the technical capacity to do the work. To make evaluation a cornerstone of organizational learning and capacity building may require a reexamination of the way one designs, conducts and uses evaluation. Evaluative learning is an ongoing, collaboratively designed, and stakeholder-led evaluation process that has the primary purpose of serving organizational learning by evaluating the whole logic model. Five principles illustrate the concept of evaluative learning.
Program Evaluation Practice in the Nonprofit Sector
A study funded by The Aspen Institute Nonprofit Sector Research Fund and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation examines the evaluation processes of nonprofits and the factors associated with perceived usefulness and credibility.
Evaluative Learning "Readiness" Checklist for Funders
Traditionally, evaluation has served the primary purpose of establishing accountability between grantmakers and grantees within the philanthropic community. More recently, however, many organizations are repositioning their evaluations as opportunities for learning. Evaluative learning is distinct from evaluation conducted primarily to establish accountability for external audiences. This evaluative learning “readiness” checklist lists things that need to be in place in order for evaluative learning to work well.
Evaluation Capacity & Evaluative Thinking in Organizations
The Bruner Foundation has been engaged in a determined effort to help nonprofit service providers increase their effectiveness by embracing organizational learning practices. Chief among these: embedding evaluation and "evaluative thinking" into all aspects of the organizations' operations and using data to drive improved performance. The foundation's work in the area of organizational learning has focused on two initiatives: The Rochester Effectiveness Partnership, which concluded in 2003; and the Evaluative Thinking in Organizations Study, concluded in 2004. Be sure to check out their Evaluative Thinking Assessment Tool. For a short article about their work, see Building Evaluative Thinking from GEO's inaugural issue of LEARNING in July 2006.
Creating a Culture of Inquiry: Changing methods -- and minds -- on the use of evaluation in nonprofit organizations
This report describes the results of the Working on Workforce Development (WOW) Project, a two-year experiment to help nonprofit organizations use the tool of evaluation. The results contain valuable lessons for funders, evaluators, consultants and others interested in organizational development and capacity-building.
Shall We Dance? Program Evaluation Meets OD in the Nonprofit Sector
The professional fields of program evaluation and organization development (OD) have existed for about the same 50 years since The King and I was first produced on Broadway. Each profession has advanced in its separate spheres with relatively little contact... In this article we explore the ways in which OD and program evaluation might initiate a duet of song and drama that will lead to greater collaboration for strengthening the nonprofit sector.
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