Strategy Implementation Addressing the Disconnect between Decisions and Data: 2012 Evaluation Roundtable Convening

Developed for the 2012 Evaluation Roundtable convening, this presentation outlines key disconnects between learning and strategy by exploring the culture and role of evaluation at foundations. It covers three questions:

1. What does the distribution of evaluation resources in a foundation signal about what “unit of analysis” and purpose for evaluation are most important?
2. What does the degree and quality of evaluation use at a foundation signal about what drives decisions at different levels of the organization?
3. How does the scope of evaluation activities at a foundation reflect the foundation’s learning and evaluation priorities, and shape interactions between program and evaluation?

Drawing on benchmarking data gathered from the Evaluation Roundtable network, the presentation examines organizational barriers to learning from strategies, warns against cognitive traps that hinder learning and decision-making, and describes approaches to avoid or counteract those traps.