When foundations seek to improve and assess the impact of their work (and not all foundations do), questions abound, particularly when it comes to centering trust and collaborative learning. Some look inward, asking: Does our portfolio of grants support our strategy and intended organizational outcomes? Are we moving the needle? Is our work still relevant in a constantly changing world?  Others grapple with the approach: Should we focus on learning or evaluation?

All of these questions are important to the ongoing work of any foundation. But taken alone, they often miss an essential element: the grantees.

Over the years, the Surdna Foundation has developed a culture of learning in service of grantees that has been guided by three fundamental questions: What can we do, beyond giving grants, to help partners solve societal problems? How can we learn with and in service of grantees to accelerate racial justice? How can we remove barriers and inefficiencies to our processes? We believe these questions will lead us to better results in the long run. For us, the journey is as important as the destination.

The Path to Centering Trust and Collaborative Learning

Learning and evaluation aren’t mutually exclusive. Both offer accountability and continuous improvement. But the words themselves are loaded.

For some, “evaluation” connotes a sense of objectivity with clear, data-driven results. To others, it implies that foundations are judging grantees for hitting predetermined metrics, as though grant outcomes were sales quotas. “Learning,” on the other hand, can feel more approachable and open to ideas that transcend metrics—or it may seem like a soft science, lacking in rigor. Most foundations choose their approach based on philosophy, organizational culture, and, to a lesser extent, the nature of the issues a foundation is working to improve. For example, a quantitative evaluation process might be better suited to the work of a funder trying to determine the efficacy of a drug trial than one working on racial justice. But most funders can benefit from hard and soft data alike.

Read the full article about centering trust with grantees by Jonathan Goldberg at PEAK Grantmaking.