48 - Mired in metrics and reporting: Shifting philanthropy and government funding to empower learning and action

Abstract Information: Access to funding and social financing for non-profits to address critical community needs – from the housing crisis to climate change – is associated with significant reporting, administration and evaluation requirements that limit equitable access. Reporting often requires that specific measures and data be tracked as part of program-wide performance measurement framework and/or as pre-determined at the time of funding (or applications). Evaluation is also often required, but not necessarily funded or done in a way that meets the needs of the initiative. Collected data and evaluations are rarely analysed by funders or shared for community benefit, and standardization often fails to provide useful insight into impact. Non-profits, researchers, and sector advocates have drawn attention to these challenges for decades and as a results alternative funding, evaluation and reporting approaches are gaining some traction: • Trust-based philanthropy and practices are being adopted by an expanding number of foundations that recognize inequities in philanthropy. • Various initiatives have developed frameworks/resources to support community-driven measurement and streamline application and reporting demands. • Alternative evaluation approaches that take into account complexity and systems thinking are more widely known and used. While promising, these practices are not mainstream. Conversely, many voices call for greater accountability and for non-profits to demonstrate clear, measurable results, further entrenching existing practices. Software-enabled applications, impact measurement and data tracking and reporting presents both opportunity, and greater complexity and challenge. This session will foster conversation to explore what is needed to catalyze change in non-profit data collection, evaluation and reporting to enable more equitable funding and useful data that can be mobilized for community change.