Success and Failure in the Evaluation Process
What do the terms “success” and “failure” really mean in the philanthropic world? Funders have taken different approaches to learning from initiatives that haven’t gone quite as they had hoped. Some funders want to learn from their mistakes, some provide technical assistance to lagging grantees, and some want to focus their light on “bright spots” and grantee successes. In this session, Kat Athanasiades from Innovation Network will discuss how and when her organization uses grant reports in evaluation; how and why getting good evaluation data from grant reports is difficult; and potential ways to make it easier for grantees to report on failure in a way that could be useful to evaluators.
Session participants will:
•Know how funders can embed “failure reporting” into grant reports in ways that are useful to evaluators.
•Learn ways a foundation can combat some of the "structural" impediments, e.g., trust and communication, that may prevent proper reporting on failure.
•Gain ideas from fellow participants on how to understand and appreciate grantmaking "failures" as well as successes.
1. Success and Failure
in the Evaluation Process
Kat Athanasiades
kathanasiades@innonet.org
@KatAthanasiades
Annual Conference 2015, National Harbor, MD
Grants Managers Network
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
2. About Innovation Network
White papers with tips for grantmakers
Kat
Evaluation consulting firm
working with foundations
and nonprofits
Research on
evaluation practice
21. Planning
What does it take to achieve
goals? To achieve success?
Which strategies are most effective in moving
our organization closer to our long-term goal of
creating meaningful experiences?
2
Why are some grantees making
more progress than others?
22. Basic Grantee Information
Grantee Name
Grant Amount
Topic Area
Grant Terms
Accountability Assessment
Key Deliverables/Activities
Outputs
Barriers/Opportunities
Staff involvement
Grant report example 12
23. Impact/Success Assessment
Change Agent Targeted
Evidence of Influence
Recommended Next Steps
Additional Follow Up Recommended
No Follow Up
Grant report example 12
24. 1. Describe your organization’s advocacy activities and
how these activities relate to your organization’s
advocacy objectives
2. Describe your accomplishments in the first year of
GSA funding. What advocacy related results have
occurred in connection with MFH funding?
Grant report example 22
25. 3. How have the GSA grant funds increased your
organization’s capacity to perform advocacy
activities?
4. What have been your organization’s challenges
(frustrations, barriers, or disappointments) in the
past year? How were these challenges addressed or
redirected?
Grant report example 22