September 2007
Download pdf version of the information note "How do foundations evaluate?" (108Kb members only)
In the past decade, philanthropic foundations have paid increased attention to evaluating their actions and developing new approaches to evaluation. This emphasis on the outcome of funding activities is part of the broad “foundation effectiveness” and “strategic philanthropy” movements which are developing around the world.
The generally agreed definition of evaluation is “the systematic determination of merit, worth, and significance of something or someone; evaluation often is used to characterise and appraise subjects of interest in a wide range of human enterprises - evaluation approaches are conceptually distinct ways of thinking about, designing and conducting evaluation efforts”1.
As for philanthropic work, traditionally, evaluation was merely a way to prove the link between cause and effect, to show that a grantmaker and its grantees are delivering the promised results. Today, grantmakers increasingly view evaluation as a means to learning about their own funding or operating activities in order to achieve greater effectiveness and social impact.
Paradoxically, the available information suggests that there are still relatively few European foundations which conduct formal evaluation, and only one noteworthy study has examined evaluation methods by European foundations2. However there is evidence that interest in evaluation is growing in Europe: in a meeting convened by the International Network on Strategic Philanthropy (INSP)3 in November 2002, leaders of seven European foundations discussed a wide range of innovative evaluation and learning activities they have integrated into their work. This reveals European foundations’ willingness to see evaluation as a core activity directly contributing to achieving their strategic purposes and goals4.
This note captures broad elements of foundation evaluation and provides outlines of the processes and methods most frequently described in the available literature. They are completed with concrete examples which illustrate the variety of foundations’ specific practices. The note is structured in the following sections: evaluation functions, evaluation level and focus; evaluation guidelines and tools; evaluation methodology; evaluators; evaluation reporting.
The links below provide available data outlining evaluation function, level and focus, policies and guidelines, methodological approaches, external and internal evaluators and communication of the evaluation findings, in some European countries. Select references and a bibliography are also provided.
> See How do foundations evaluate? - A bibliography
[1] Source: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaluation.
[2] European foundations and corporate funders: evaluation methods. - Brussels : European Foundation Centre & Compagnia di San Paolo, 1998
[3] For more information on the project, see The role of evaluation in the 21th century foundation / Edward Pauly. - Gütersloh : Bertelsmann Foundation, 2005, and http://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/cps/rde/xchg/SID-0A000F14-0DDBB6EA/bst_engl/hs.xsl/prj_7504_7512.htm
[4] The role of evaluation op.cit.