Resources
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How do marginalized communities build systemic power that is enduring rather than merely episodic? For many grassroots organizers, the answer is deeply rooted in culture.
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- Presentation
Drawing on benchmarking data gathered from the Evaluation Roundtable network, this 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. It explores how the culture and role of evaluation in foundations can disconnect learning from strategy.
- Publication
This Foundation Review article outlines the difference between evaluation for two main types of grantmaking programs: models, which provide replicable or semi-standardized solutions, and adaptive initiatives, which are flexible programming strategies used to address problems that require unique, context-based solutions.
- Publication
The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network played a crucial role in working toward marriage equality in Ireland. This advocacy case study offers a chronological account of how advocacy for civil partnership legislation unfolded, critical elements of the advocacy strategy, and transferable lessons for advocates and funders.
- Publication
Evaluation that supports strategic learning applies evaluation findings as well as non-evaluation data in order to improve strategy. This brief describes practical steps for designing and using theories of change and strategic learning debriefs as tools for creating the space and structure required for strategic learning.
- Publication
Common evaluation approaches and practices can constrain the kind of continuous learning and adaptation that is necessary for innovation. This brief offers lessons about an emerging evaluation approach—developmental evaluation—which supports the adaptation that is so crucial to innovation.
- By Tanya Beer
- Publication
How should foundations approach their advocacy and public policy grantmaking? This report offers three options and explores what it means for foundations to design grantmaking that builds the capacity and influence of an advocacy field.
- By Tanya Beer
- Publication
Monitoring and evaluation strategies can demonstrate accountability and deliver results to stakeholders—both upwards to donors and downwards to the individuals providers serve. This brief examines how service delivery organizations conducting advocacy should think about monitoring and evaluating their work.
- Publication
Foundations make many choices in designing and supporting advocacy portfolios. Best practices can guide this work.
- By Tanya Beer
- Teaching Case
This teaching case focuses on an evaluation that aimed for real-time strategic learning over the course of a 10-year initiative. It chronicles the challenges with achieving that while the strategy shifted and evaluators grappled with how to provide information that was of real value to the work.
- Publication
An evaluation of a civic engagement and advocacy effort in Oregon offered an opportunity to incorporate both retrospective and prospective approaches and new advocacy evaluation tools. It is a case example of how evaluation can support strategic learning among advocates.
- Publication
Questions about whether it is possible to evaluate advocacy have led to a proliferation of new tools aimed at responding to the real and perceived unique challenges to evaluating advocacy. This brief questions whether the advocacy evaluation field's emphasis on the development of tools is best serving advocates.
- Publication
Strategic learning refers to efforts to incorporate reliable data and ongoing reflection into social change strategies. This brief digs into the definition of strategic learning. It explores how evaluation can support it, and proposes a set of principles that represent the “non-negotiables” of evaluation for strategic learning.