Strategic Evaluation Blog

In philanthropy, evaluation is often used to test a specific theory of change: to see whether a grant-funded intervention has had the desired effect. But there is another, underlying theory of change that determines the role of evaluation itself. That broader perspective begins with the question “How can a foundation’s modest resources influence any large scale social problem?”

 “Life is a learning experience, only if you learn.” ~Yogi Berra

I love this quote. Somehow, Yogi Berra’s words always seem to have a precious nugget of truth and insight embedded in them. What I take away from this quote is that of course, we all learn things every day – that’s part of being human. However, what we learn, how much we learn, and when we learn, matters. And, if we are not intentional about our learning, then we just might not learn what we need, when we need it, or how to use what we’ve learned.

Over the last few years, the topic of “learning” has become woven into the natural discourse in philanthropic organizations. One can hardly have a conversation with foundation staff without someone uttering the word “learning.” While this warms my heart, as someone who has studied, taught, written about, and tried to live a life dedicated to learning, I am concerned. I am concerned because while I hear a lot of talk about the value of learning, I do not see much evidence that organizations truly understand what it means to engage in and support intentional, planned, and mindful learning.

GEO’s National Conference kicks off this week and a quick peek at the program makes my heart beat joyously. The theme of the conference is Smarter Grantmaking | Stronger Nonprofits | Better Results. This is what the intersection of strategy and evaluation is all about of course. Naturally, there are several sessions dedicated to the topic of “evaluation.” The joy in my heart comes from how these sessions are framed.

Imagine if every philanthropic organization had a system that helped its leadership, staff, and board answer pressing questions about its strategy; questions such as, whether the assumptions guiding the organization’s theory of change still hold and the extent to which progress toward strategic goals is being made. Imagine a system that also ensures that the organization has the necessary resources, infrastructure, processes, and culture in place to support ongoing learning and strategic decision-making through its evaluation activities.

Recently, for our project work on early childhood care and education, my FSG colleagues and I reviewed the work of a few, well-regarded projects that have been able to employ data and indicators across multiple agencies to track the outcomes of young children. Among the many amazing aspects of these initiatives were that they: 1) involved multiple organizations working collaboratively in a particular sector, 2) coordinated complex technological components, and 3) were initiated by civil society organizations, not government.