Program Officers helped create TPA learning opportunities
Program Officers (POs) have embodied the values of reflection and learning from the beginning of the Hewlett Foundation’s engagement in Mexico. POs were at the centre of the foundation’s ability to learn and adapt as they were closely engaged in relationships with grantees and were constantly learning and adjusting to changes in the context. Their own observations during the in-country period and insights from grantees enabled them to push for changes and adjustments.
The style of the early POs actively encouraged learning on the emerging field of transparency and accountability through collective sharing and exchange of ideas and strategies. The brokering role Hewlett POs played in the Transparency Breakfasts was a major contribution to facilitating learning.
These regular breakfast gatherings with Hewlett Foundation grantees, primarily the directors from grantee organizations, provided the space for both like-minded and dissimilar organizations to come together and share contextual information and experiences and eventually co-design research, multi-stakeholder engagement strategies, and advocacy campaigns.
During the Transparency Breakfasts, there was an explicit effort by Hewlett POs to bring in experts or to ask grantees to present on key policy issues to foster joint learning. At the outset, these gatherings were an efficient way for Hewlett POs to learn about the context and have a chance to interact with multiple grantees without needing to set up exclusive meetings. They also enabled CSOs and think tanks in a relatively new field to learn from each other.
