Evaluation

The KDK-Harman Foundation considers evaluation to be an essential part of our grantmaking process. We believe that grantmakers only succeed when their grantees achieve meaningful results. As noted in the grant contract, all organizations receiving funds from the KDK-Harman Foundation are required to provide six-month reports to the Foundation until the funds are completely expended. These reports should document the extent to which the project goals have been met. The Foundation will review reports to assess progress in achieving goals within the funding period and meet with organization representatives to increase the dialogue beyond the report itself. KDK-Harman accepts the Common Grant Application and Report as a way to streamline the grants process. Please go to the following link to download the Common Grant Report: http://www.centraltexasedfunders.org/Common_Grant_Report.html

We recognize that grantees themselves are best qualified to assess the results of their own work. However, to assist applicants in developing a sound proposal and evaluation plan for their projects, we have included a variety of information and resources to offer guidance.

Evaluation as a Capacity-Building Tool

Traditionally, evaluation’s sole function has been accountability. However, more and more funders and nonprofit leaders are shifting away from proving something to someone else, and toward improving what they do so they can achieve their mission and share how they succeeded with others. We can describe the use of evaluation in this role as an organizational capacity-building tool, or evaluative learning. It is our hope that through the evaluative learning process we can shift away from focusing on understanding what went wrong and hone in on an understanding of what works and how to strengthen it further.

There are four main elements of evaluative learning:
            (1) Evaluation should be ongoing;
            (2) Evaluations need to be collaboratively designed to ensure buy-in and support from everyone;
            (3) Key stakeholders need to serve as leaders to move the evaluation process forward if the organization
                  and everyone involved is to learn and grown; and
            (4) The primary purpose of evaluative learning is organizational learning.

To learn more about evaluation as a capacity-building tool, see the list of Evaluation Resources in the Knowledge Center.

We are interested in evaluating the relationship between program resources (money, experience, and time), program quality, and the desired outcomes. Rather than consider each element individually, it’s essential to understand the relationships between these elements in service to the organizational mission. Through our evaluation, we want to answer five questions, with special attention paid to the last two:
          • Did the clients change, and if so, how much and in what ways?
          • How much service did you provide and what was the quality of that service?
          • What was the quantity and quality of the resources you used to implement your programs?
          • Which resources were most important for providing high-quality service?
          • Which strategies (program qualities) were most important for achieving the desired outcomes?

Below is an Evaluative Learning Continuum. Where is your organization’s current evaluation process on this continuum?

Key Questions	Zero to Minimal Learning	Modest Learning	Significant Learning	High Learning
What’s the purpose of the evaluation?	Accountability to funders	Accountability to funders and organizational leaders	Program planning	Organizational and program planning
Who is the audience for the findings?	Funders	Funders and organizational leaders	Funders, organizational leaders, and staff	Funders, organizational leaders, staff and the broader field
Who will conduct the evaluation?	External evaluator	External evaluation (hired by funders) with assistance from organizational staff	External evaluation (hired by organization) in conjunction with organizational staff	Internal evaluator, perhaps with coaching
Who will determine the evaluation questions and evaluation design process?	Funders and external evaluator	Funders, external evaluator and organizational leaders	Funders, external evaluator, organizational leaders, and staff	Funders, external evaluator, organizational leaders, staff, clients, and community stakeholders
What data are available to address evaluation questions?	Objective data gathered only using scientific methods	Objective data gathered only using scientific or quasi-scientific methods.	Objective and subjective data	Objective, subjective, and alternative types of data (e.g., pictures, stories, etc.)
What types of evaluation reports or presentations of data are provided?	Very detailed findings, but no examination of recommendations beyond the data	Somewhat detailed, with some examination of recommendations beyond the data	User-friendly (i.e., audience-defined) with examination of recommendations beyond the data	User-friendly, examines findings beyond the data, and incorporates a reflective process (e.g., program planning scenarios)
Who will provide interpretive feedback on the findings?	Funders	Funders and organizational leaders	Funders, organizational leaders, and staff	Funders, organizational leaders, staff, clients, community stakeholders, and the broader field
How frequently will evaluations occur?	At the conclusion of program funding	At the conclusion of each program cycle	Periodically throughout the life of the program	Ongoing for all programs within an organization

We believe that the Logic Model is the best tool for evaluative learning. The logic model, according to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is “a picture of how your organization does its work—the theory and assumptions underlying the program.” The logic model helps evaluative learning by serving as a tool to develop a shared understanding of the organization and program. It shows the relationships between short- and long-term outcomes, the program strategies or activities and their outputs, and program inputs or resources. The highest level of evaluative learning occurs only when an organization closely examines the last two questions, which relate the organization’s strategic choices to its outcomes and effectiveness. Too often, evaluations only look at the outcomes section of a logic model, but the entire logic model must be assessed in order to examine the relationship between inputs, strategies, and outcomes. Over time, the logic model can be revised until it represents not only what everyone assumes will work, but also what actually does work. Then, everyone has a more accurate road map that will serve their mission.

Although KDK-Harman Foundation does not require the development of logic models as part of its application process, we strongly encourage our grantees to develop logic models for their organization and to learn more about using evaluation as a capacity-building tool. KDK-Harman Foundation is also actively learning more about how to support evaluative learning for its grantees. As a foundation, we have developed our own logic model to guide our grantmaking, which you can visit by clicking on KDK Logic Model.

The above information was gathered from "A Funder's Guide to Evaluation: Leveraging Evaluation to Improve Nonprofit Effectiveness" by Peter York, published by Fieldstone Alliance and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, 2005.

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Evaluation as a Capacity-Building Tool

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