Evaluation and Effectiveness
A list of resources and links for evaluation practice and effective philanthropy.
Evaluation
• Strategic Philanthropy: Guide to Evaluation, 2012, Credit Suisse. Addresses why philanthropists think about evaluation, gives an overview of the major trends and practices in evaluation, and provides suggestions on how philanthropists can make evaluation effective for their work.
• A 6-page summary report, 2011, by the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation on creating a shared measurement strategy for their programs which seek to improve access to recreation and character building programs for children and youth from low-income families.
• Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement and Social Impact, 2010 from FSG Social Impact Advisors, highlights the emergencies of a new trend in evaluation in the development of innovative systems that enable hundreds of non-profits to measure their performance on common indicators.
• Evaluation in Philanthropy: Perspectives from the Field, 2009 is a joint publication by GEO and the Council on Foundations that offers an overview of how grantmakers are looking at evaluation and organizational learning.
• DE 201: A Practitioner’s Guide to Developmental Evaluation by Elizabeth Dozois, Marc Langlois, and Natasha Blanchet-Cohen builds on the concepts outlined in A Developmental Evaluation Primer by articulating some of the key practices associated with this work. The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation and the International Institute for Child Rights and Development 2010.
• Learning for Social Impact was developed by McKinsey to “help funders, their grantees, and other essential partners achieve social change by offering best practices, guidelines, tools, insights and practical help in developing assessment plans that drive social impact.” McKinsey has posted a number of reflections, definitions, voices and views on its site.
• TRASI, Tools and Resources for Assessing Social Impact, is a dedicated website from the Foundation Center where you can browse the database for approaches to impact assessment and ready to use tools for measuring social change.
• From Insight to Action: New Directions in Foundation Evaluation 2007. In this survey report, the FSG Social Impact Advisors explore new approaches to gathering “forward-looking information” that enables funders and grantees to improve their foundation’s effectiveness.
•The Role of Evaluation in the 21st Century Foundation by Edward Pauly, 2005. A discussion on “one of the most visible changes in philanthropy in the last twenty years: the increased attention paid by foundations to the results of the activities they support.”
• Evaluation as a Pathway to Learning: Current Topics in Evaluation for Grantmakers, William H Woodwell, Jr., Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, 2005. Examines evaluation approaches of different grantmakers and contains tips on how to incorporate results orientation into your organization’s work.
Effectiveness
• Attitudes and Practices Concerning Effective Philanthropy, by Francie Ostrower , The Urban Insitute, 2004. Results of a major study conducted in 2003, funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations.
• Indicators of Effectiveness, and Toward a Common Language, The Centre for Effective Philanthropy, Boston, 2002. This US-based research centre has produced two publications summarizing the results of a comprehensive pilot study of foundation performance metrics.
• Listening To Grantees, Center for Effective Philanthropy. The findings ofa large-scale survey were analyzed in order toidentify the key factors that determine a grantee’s satisfaction with a particular foundation.
• Rethinking Philanthropic Effectiveness – Lessons from an International Network of Foundation Experts, edited by Dirk Eilinghoff, 2005. A collection of papers on topics such as philanthropy and globalization, stakeholder interactions in philanthropy, and more.
Links
GrantBenefit, an online collection of resources by Community Foundations Canadafor foundations to assess grants impact and effectiveness in their communities.
Centre for Voluntary Sector Research and Development Research has a section of its site devoted to evaluation and accountability.
