Goal 4 Activities

State government and philanthropic funders tend to base grantee reporting requirements predominantly on the need for accountability. This approach misses the opportunity to leverage data for learning. Using data for continuous improvement is particularly important when funders desire that grantees continue grant-funded activities beyond the end of the funding period.

Given the substantial contextual differences between state- and philanthropic-funded grant programs, the goals and support needed for each group is different.

State-funded grant programs: These are typically defined in statute and administered by a designated state agency. The Colorado Lab examined the data use requirements of state-funded grant programs across a variety of departments and identified legislation as the key leverage point for change. We developed guidance for legislators about how to structure grant programs to encourage grantee use of data for learning while right-sizing reporting for accountability.

Philanthropic funders: Philanthropy has significantly more discretion about what they require of grantees. There is an appetite among some to reduce the burden on grantees while increasing grantee capacity. The Colorado Lab, in partnership with Philanthropy Colorado and ResultsLab, established a cross-system community of practice to support the collaboration needed to enhance how funders and grantees use data for learning. Since October 2024, Colorado Partners in Evaluation (CO-PIE) has convened regularly to discuss what conditions need to be in place to accelerate culture change in the sector. CO-PIE creates a psychologically safe meeting space to establish and sustain trust, understanding, and joint learning among funder and grantee partners. The ultimate goal of this effort is to build a culture where Colorado funders and grantees collaborate to learn from all kinds of data (numbers and narratives) to accelerate improved outcomes for Coloradans.

Goal 4 Actionability

Funders wield substantial power to increase grantee use of data for continuous improvement by modifying their reporting requirements and who they reward with continued funding. If state- and philanthropic-funded grant programs expect grantees to use data for learning, this will provide the impetus for moving EBDM within grantee organizations from a “nice to have” to “business as usual.”