October 2019 In collaboration with evaluation and learning leaders in fourteen foundations, we experimented with how to integrate learning into the way philanthropy works. Our “Lab for Learning” revealed several ideas about what it takes.

Tanya Beer, Center for Evaluation Innovation Developmental evaluation requires changing the way evaluation commissioners and evaluators work together. If it feels like business as usual, you’re probably not doing it. On May 31, 2019, Community Science sponsored the webinar “Developmental Evaluation: Rewards, Perils, and Anxieties.” A foundation officer (Kristi Ward…

Julia Coffman, Center for Evaluation Innovation, June 2018 Establishing a learning organization or culture is such a big goal that it can overwhelm our ability to act on it. Building learning habits into common routines makes it more manageable, creating small wins that can lead to big change. Last year…

Julia Coffman, Center for Evaluation Innovation, May 2018 It was the worst U.S. maritime disaster in three decades, involving an experienced captain with a reputation for safety. What went wrong and what can this teach us about the often-overlooked factors that affect our learning and decisions? I was flying across…

Julia Coffman, Center for Evaluation Innovation, July 2017 Last year I wrote about my rocky relationship with sticky notes. Actually, it was more about the expanding role of evaluators who work in philanthropy, and the challenge of trying to meet the many demands that accompany that role. …

Julia Coffman, Center for Evaluation Innovation, April 2016 There I was, stuffing sticky notes and Sharpies into a Ziploc bag. And staring back at me, in sharp neon relief, was the realization that my job as an evaluator had changed. Big time. But before I get to that, let me…