Press Release: NPC launch new guide for funders, grant-makers, and philanthropists on monitoring, evaluation, and learning with trust and equity

Today (December 5th) NPC have released new guidance to help funders monitor their grants and evaluate projects they support in more trusting and equitable ways. The report argues that doing this will enable more learning and increase impact.

The step-by-step guide emphasises the importance of intention and proportionality, rather than using an off-the-shelf or one-size-fits-all approach.

The report highlights charity’s frustrations at requirements to produce long, written reports for short-term or small grants. NPC argue that funders need to ‘match your methods to what you need to know’, with a focus on using a wide range of evidence to learn and inform future practice.

The publication comes as the funding and philanthropy sector grapples with an increased focus on justice and equity. The third sector increasingly recognises deep structural inequalities in our society. This has provoked a reckoning among a growing group of grant-makers about who gets access to funding, who gets to make decisions about where funding goes, and the value and importance of lived experience.

NPC’s new publication ‘Monitoring, evaluation, and learning with trust and equity: a guide for grant-makers and philanthropists’ aims to help readers respond to these changes while remaining committed to using evidence to increase their impact

Report co-author Claire Gordon, Principal for Funder Evaluation and Learning at NPC, said:

“We know that funders face a difficult challenge in the current environment, where budgets are limited and there are many competing demands.

We hope that this guide will help them use evidence to navigate a way forward, grounded in equity and justice.

We don’t believe it’s an either-or choice between trust and rigour. It’s about asking the right questions which can help you learn and evolve, and seeking out the most meaningful evidence.”

NPC’s six core principles for funders to consider when undertaking Monitoring, evaluation, and learning are:

• Being intentional is the foundation for a trusting and equitable approach. Increasing clarity and direction helps create transparency for grant-holders, ensures scarce resources are allocated where they can make most difference, and enables equity to be centred from the start.
• Monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) is about more than assessing the impact of your grants. We argue for a more expansive view of MEL which makes use of a wide range of evidence and insights to inform your practice. ‘Turning the lens’ and looking inwards is key to creating better grant-making practices, while looking outwards is vital to understanding how you can make the most impact.
• Proportionality is at the heart of good monitoring & evaluation practice. Fundamentally, this means evidence collected is of real value to different stakeholders. Requirements will need to be adapted to stay proportionate. In some instances, this may mean collecting less data, in some instances more.
• Approaches and methods must fit evidence and learning needs. This means questioning default approaches, such as written reporting or evaluation for programmes over a certain value. Instead, be guided by what sources will provide the most meaningful kinds of information to answer learning and accountability needs.
• Make the most of evidence both for you and for others. Ensure there is adequate investment in time and skills to bring together and share learning, and reflect on what you will do differently.
• Bring in other voices. Reflect on whose views should be considered, who gets to decide, and how can you share your power as a funder. This will take time and resources, so opportunities for input should be meaningful and participants should be compensated.