The Evaluation Roundtable is a network of learning and evaluation leaders in philanthropy, and a leading-edge platform for peer learning.
Founded in 1989 by philanthropic evaluation leader Patti Patrizi, over the last 30 years, the Evaluation Roundtable has served as a preeminent resource for peer learning about forward-thinking philanthropic evaluation and learning practice. CEI has been coordinating the Roundtable since 2012. Roundtable participants include evaluation and learning leaders in over 130 foundations in the US and in Canada.
The Evaluation Roundtable is focused on organizing participants to influence the philosophy and norms of practice in philanthropy so that evaluation and learning:
- help to advance racial equity and justice
- create channels for people—particularly those who have historically and structurally excluded from decision making about public resources—to participate in and influence decisions about the interventions and systems affecting their lives
- increase the ability of foundations, nonprofits, and other change agents to navigate and transform the complex dynamics that shape our world.
Recent Roundtable Resources
- Event Summary
2025 Roundtable Convening: Accounting for Systemic Impact
The 2025 Evaluation Roundtable explored accountability for systemic impact through a teaching case examining an evaluation from The Ford Foundation, and how it supported collective reflection and adaptation within a multifaceted, international program.
- Event Summary
2023 Roundtable Convening: Navigating Power in Strategy, Learning, and Evaluation
The 2023 Evaluation Roundtable explored power in strategy, learning, and evaluation through a teaching case examining The California Endowment’s work to advance health equity and people power in communities across California.
