The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: Evaluation Study
Case Overview
FSG was engaged in a review of the evaluation practices and processes for The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, to identify opportunities for greater efficiencies in practice and enhanced learning at the Foundation.
The Foundation had an experienced, capable program staff with clear long-term goals and thoughtful strategies in each program area. The data used for foundation decision-making was assembled from a rich variety of sources. However, the decision around data collection for planning, grantmaking and evaluation was made on an ad hoc basis by each program area and each Program Officer. Although a considerable amount of high quality information was coming into the Foundation, there was no consistent process for revising strategies to incorporate new learnings, validate assumptions, confirm projected impacts, or make midcourse corrections. Program staff managed a large number of grants, limiting the time available for planning, monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities. The Foundation engaged FSG to analyze its evaluation processes and identify opportunities for improvement.
Through a combination of extensive interviews and document review, FSG analyzed the Foundation’s evaluation practices. Fifteen interviews were completed of Foundation leadership, staff members from Program, Information Technology, and Communication groups and representatives of two consulting firms working with Hewlett on related issues. In addition, FSG conducted an extensive review of documents relating to strategy, grantmaking, and evaluation at the foundation.
Based on the findings of this research, FSG believed there was a significant opportunity for the Foundation to model an innovative approach for the use of evaluation by major private foundations. FSG suggested that the answer was to pare away unnecessary activities and focus on highly efficient ways to collect and distill the much narrower set of information that is truly important to the foundation’s decision-making.
FSG’s primary recommendation was to implement modest changes that would strengthen the Foundation’s tools by systematizing them, building them into the Foundation’s strategic plans, and streamlining or outsourcing the remaining work. FSG suggested that the Foundation could sharpen its strategies, improve its decision-making, and reduce program staff workload by developing a more systematic approach to evaluation.
Recognizing the historic practices and culture at the Foundation, and the number of new processes that had been introduced in the prior two years, FSG advised that its recommendations be a starting point for engaging staff in a facilitated, participatory process of change. Through that process, the Foundation could develop the blueprint for the desired result: greater impact through better information with increased efficiency.
About The Hewlett Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation – with assets of $6.87 billion – has been making grants since 1967 to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world.