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What We Learned From Talking Evaluation to Funders

In recent months, we’ve been talking with funders (including private foundations, public foundations and funders, government, and corporate funders) about evaluation. We’ve learned that, by and large, they are very interested in evaluation and see it as an important tool for learning and action. They understand the challenges that nonprofits face around evaluation and they acknowledge that some of these challenges arise out of their own requirements and expectations. Like nonprofits, funders we spoke with in Ontario see the need for a better approach to nonprofit evaluation with more focus on collaboration, learning, and action. Many are already taking steps to achieve this, but most also acknowledge that they still have much to learn. During our conversations, we gained insight into the obstacles that funders must overcome in order to change their practices. Understanding these challenges may be one of the keys to building an evaluation strategy that is truly sector driven and action focused. That is the focus of this blog.

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Sharing Successes from Saint John, NB

Saint John, New Brunswick is one of Vibrant Communities’ 13 original trail builder communities. They were among the first members to undertake the Vibrant Communities framework, establish a multi-sectoral collaboration, and work towards a set goal of poverty reduction. 

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Increasing Our Ability to Evaluate Complexity

Evaluation can be a powerful force for change within organizations. As a result of how we assess our efforts, we pay attention to different areas and invest differently.

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Understanding Measures: Moving from Counting to Accomplishing

A tsunami of measuring things has hit our community efforts over the past decade. For the most part, this "run it like a business" mantrahas done little harm, but it also has not gotten us to the promised land of transformative change.

There have been critics on both sides of the exercise.  Some will talk about their belief that important things, by their very nature, do not lend themselves to be measured.  While others will identify the insufficiency of the measures chosen.  Still more have called it a distracting fad that takes providers away from the important work of good people doing good things.

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Developmental Evaluation and Developmental Design for Social Innovation

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