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Session Title: The Twenty-year Journey of Evaluation Within a Foundation: The Colorado Trust
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Panel Session 715 to be held in Balboa C on Friday, Nov 4, 2:50 PM to 4:20 PM
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Sponsored by the Non-profit and Foundations Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Nancy Csuti, The Colorado Trust, nancy@coloradotrust.org
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| Discussant(s):
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| Patricia Patrizi, Patrizi Associates, patti@patriziassociates.com
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| Abstract:
From the early days of evaluative questioning in the early 1990's through multiple board and CEO transitions, experimenting with varying grantmaking styles, changing visions and shifting roles of evaluation within the foundation, the underlying premise of evaluation for learning has remained steadfast at The Colorado Trust. This session calls on the combined knowledge of the four primary evaluation department staff at The Colorado Trust over the past two decades. Starting with the formation of the evaluation department and attempts to integrate learning across the organization, through the present day, this session will highlight and discuss the milestones reached in integrating evaluation into a foundation's work. Challenges faced over the twenty years, and the drivers for authentic evaluation-program integration mirror findings from the work of Patrizi Associates. This session will tie the real-life experiences of the foundation into the framework identified by the Patrizi Associates research.
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The Journey Begins: Deciding What Evaluation Means for the Trust
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| Doug Easterling, Wake Forest University, dveaster@wfubmc.edu
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After experimenting with responsive grantmaking for the first 5 years of its existence, the Board of the foundation made two crucial decisions in 1991: a) strategic initiatives would provide the framework for all funding, and b) each initiative would be evaluated. The board agreed to invest 10% of each initiative's budget in evaluation and to hire evaluators on staff. At the same time, the board had only a vague view of what evaluation would accomplish: "We need to know if we're making a difference." This session will describe the process through which the evaluation function took shape during Doug Easterling's tenure from 1992-1999. Evaluation evolved from a pure "test of effectiveness" approach (with the evaluator working from an external vantage point) to an approach that balanced summative and formative evaluation. At the same time, the evaluation director became responsible for facilitating a process of organizational learning within the foundation. Some of these learning attempts were more productive than others, depending in large part on the level of trust between staff. Over time, this process brought to the surface the question of how much influence the evaluation staff should have in the design and management of grantmaking. A larger set of lessons learned will be presented during the panel session.
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The Journey Continues: The Rise and Fall of the Learning Organization
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| Nancy Csuti, The Colorado Trust, nancy@coloradotrust.org
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When Doug Easterling (presenter #1) left the foundation the evaluation unit was moved under the direction of the VP of Programs. This move, intended to result in more opportunities for meaningful use of evaluation both in program planning and in assessment of impact, resulted in many of experiences reported in the Patrizi research - a reduced role of evaluation in planning, less reporting to the board, less disseminating "negative" findings, and so on. While the foundation investment in evaluation continued to grow, the purpose of the evaluations changed and learning as an intended outcome of evaluation was all but abandoned. The role of foundation leadership was critical in setting this path for evaluation during these years, as it was for changing the path back to one where learning was valued.
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Haven't We Been Here Before?: The Cycle Begins Again
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| Tanya Beer, Center for Evaluation Innovation, tbeer@evaluationinnovation.org
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The arrival of a new CEO triggered a fresh focus on evaluation, as she invited the evaluation department to focus once again on evaluation utilization and organizational learning. The same questions emerged among staff about how much influence evaluation should have on programmatic decisions, and the residue of tension between evaluation and programs made the transformation slow and contentious. Although staff turnover and the verbal support of the CEO relieved some of this tension, the evaluation staff had to test a variety of approaches-with varying degrees of success-to try to develop a cohesive evaluation philosophy and approach for the organization. The dilemmas facing evaluation staff (and consultants) during this period seem to be common across the evaluation-focused philanthropic sector, based on the work of Patrizi and others. Tanya, who served in the evaluation department during the new CEO's tenure, will share the key questions The Trust had to tackle, including: How can leadership support for evaluation be operationalized so that it's more than a public promise? What kind of processes and incentives need to be in place to help transform the relationship between program strategy and evaluation? What organizational capacities are required to build effective feedback loops? How does a new learning-oriented approach to evaluation change a funders' relationship with grantees and with external evaluation contractors?
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Looking Forward With "Fresh Eyes:" The Past Informing the Present Informing the Future
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| Phillip Chung, Colorado Trust, phillip@coloradotrust.org
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As the most recent member of the evaluation staff (October 2010), Phil will provide a "fresh eyes" perspective to the Trust's journey to implement an "evaluation for learning" approach within the foundation. He will discuss how The Trust's past efforts have informed their current approach to evaluation and organizational learning, with specific examples that illustrate the "fits and starts" he has witnessed in his short tenure. Furthermore, Phil will describe his experience - the day-to-day issues, challenges and lessons learned - in how the foundation oriented and supported a new evaluation staff member to implement such an approach. Finally, he will share ideas on what the role of evaluation at The Colorado Trust looks like going forward.
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