Improved Final Reports: Collecting Grantee Stories While Developing Evaluative Capacity

Monday, October 15, 2:00pm – 3:30pm

Organized by Sofia Klatzker, director of grants and professional development, Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

Presented by Kamelia Tate, director of research & evaluation, Music Center.

Do your grantees understand what is expected from them in terms of assessment, evaluation, and reporting back? Are you using the evaluation process to build relationships with your grantees?

The Los Angeles County Arts Commission recently underwent an in-depth process to reimagine the purpose and outcomes of grantee progress and final reports. To investigate and develop a more effective and comprehensive evaluation instrument, the Arts Commission engaged in a community process that included exploring the evaluation philosophies and practices of five California funders; establishing priorities for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, arts deputies, and arts commissioners; and interviewing and surveying Arts Commission grantees to determine their capacity and needs. A major finding was that funders from other sectors have similar goals and emphasize a learning relationship where grantees can use evaluation to reflect on their work, funders can effectively evaluate their initiatives, and the community can learn new strategies.

Acknowledging our collective goal as arts grantmakers of supporting our grantees’ organizational capacity-building efforts, increasing their internal evaluation capacity, and flattening the funder-grantee relationship, this session will provide a forum for funders to discuss the role of reporting and evaluation in their organizations and the impact on grantees.