Evaluation and Learning at Foundations

Evaluation and learning (E&L) leaders are part of a substantial and growing contingent in philanthropy. Whether new to their roles or seasoned, one thing is clear: the job requires flexibility and skill to handle a dynamic and complicated work environment. We’ve created a guide for E&L leaders that is full of field-based considerations, practical tools, reflection questions, and other guidance to help them find a route to relevance and effectiveness in the current transformative context.

To inform the development of the guide, we conducted 25 in-depth interviews with staff at three foundations—Ewing Marion Kauffman, James Irvine, and Kresge—that explored the leadership and mechanics of E&L functions, their accomplishments, and opportunities and challenges for integrating E&L into each foundation’s other work. All three of these foundations champion the Equitable Evaluation Initiative and are on their own equity journeys. We also conducted a literature review of foundation E&L practices, gathered insights through learning sessions and conversations with E&L leaders, and drew from our firm’s own long-standing experience partnering with foundation leaders to support evaluation, strategy, learning, and equity.