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Session Title: Thinking Outside the Evaluation Report Box: Transforming Evaluation Results Into a Structural Change Grantmaking Toolkit
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Panel Session 891 to be held in Texas E on Saturday, Nov 13, 2:50 PM to 4:20 PM
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Sponsored by the Evaluation Use TIG
and the Non-profit and Foundations Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Steven LaFrance, Learning for Action Group, steven@lfagroup.com
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| Abstract:
We all hope that our evaluations will inform practice. But many evaluation reports are not used by the client, let alone a wider audience. This panel presentation will share how the project leadership, facilitator and evaluator worked together throughout the span of the initiative being evaluated, and how the resulting integration of evaluation frameworks and processes into the project led to the development of a final product, a toolkit that incorporated the lessons learned and will be distributed and hopefully used by a much larger audience than a conventional evaluation report might have reached. The project of focus is Common Vision, initiated by Funders for LGBTQ Issues, whose goal was to lead a group of grantmakers through a process to discover how they can support structural change in the service of widespread equity, and transfer those lessons learned to the field of philanthropy to advance similar efforts.
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Introducing the Common Vision Process
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| Karen Zelermyer, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, karen@lgbtfunders.org
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| Ellen Gurzinsky, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, ellengurz@yahoo.com
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| Robert Espinoza, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, robespinoza@yahoo.com
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Karen Zelermyer is the president and CEO of Funders for LGBTQ Issues (Funders), which conceptualized the Common Vision process and will be the lead disseminator of the toolkit. Funders has been actively working towards structural change funding in their own work, producing collaborative research, frameworks, and initiating an LGBTQ Racial Equity Campaign. Funders envisioned a uniquely collaborative process for Common Vision, within the work of the cohorts as well as by creating a deep partnership between the facilitation, leadership and evaluation teams. This presentation will include background and context on the process, descriptions of the project model and cohorts, as well as insight into how the evaluation model was chosen.
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Sharing Best Practices for Facilitating a Formative Process
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| Jara Dean-Coffey, jdcPartnerships, jara@jdcpartnerships.com
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Jara Dean-Coffey, Founder and Principal of jdcPartnerships, was the facilitator of the Common Vision process, designing and leading meetings to move the funder cohorts from learning about the building blocks of structural change to issuing RFPs and funding projects that address structural barriers to equity in two regions. As an experienced facilitator as well as an evaluator, this presenter provides a comparative perspective on the value of collaboration among program designers, implementers and evaluators, who are typically more removed from each other than in the Common Vision experience. This presentation will also provide lessons learned about facilitating a process that is formative in nature and informed by ongoing evaluation efforts, as well as suggestions for useful practices in similar processes.
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Exploring an Integrated Evaluation Approach
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| Steven LaFrance, Learning for Action Group, steven@lfagroup.com
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Steven LaFrance, principal and founder of LFA Group, was the director of the Common Vision evaluation team, tasked with assessing the pilot program’s best practices and replicability. By being present at each cohort meeting, collecting quantitative and qualitative data on an on-going basis, and engaging in a partnership with the facilitator and leadership, Steven was able to share lessons learned in real time. This presentation will provide a description of the evaluation team’s role and the benefit of having evaluation integrated into the project from the beginning. The presentation will also detail how evaluation frameworks were used throughout the process and how this model of evaluation elevated the level of rigor and discipline in the grantmaking process.
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Transforming Evaluation Results Into a Structural Change Grantmaking Toolkit
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| JT Taylor, Learning for Action Group, jt@lfagroup.com
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JT Taylor, senior consultant at LFA Group, was the manager of the Common Vision evaluation team, and her central role was to lead the development of a final Common Vision product. The constant feedback loop between evaluators, cohort members, leadership and facilitation allowed the evaluation team to be flexible, and adapt as needed. Towards the close of the process, the evaluation team recognized that a practical but malleable toolkit would be the most useful product, for both cohort members and the funding field at large. This presentation will introduce the toolkit, its components and purpose, and discuss how each piece evolved out of Common Vision’s engagement with the original tools and processes. The presentation will also share plans for use and dissemination of the toolkit going forward.
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