Framework & Approach
As the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund spends out its capital over the next five years, we aim to demonstrate what difference we, and the organisations that we fund, have made in the lives of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people. We are doing this for three reasons:
- We want to account for the money we have spent
- We want to make sure that the lessons we capture focus on social change and the Fund's role in bring it about
- We want to ensure that the lessons are shared with others who can act on them
The section below explains our current approach to learning and evaluation.
Inspiring Change: our approach
Evaluation plays a crucial role in increasing the impact of our work and the work of our grantees. The Fund is committed to evaluation at three levels:
1) Grantees
We believe that grantees need to be able to understand and explain how their activities will lead to changes in people's lives. Project plans should contain clear links between what an organisation does and the changes it aims to bring about. Sometimes this is called a ‘logic model', ‘impact chain' or a ‘theory of change'.
We understand that social change is not an exact science, and often the links between ‘cause and effect' are based on assumptions about how change happens. These assumptions should be made explicit by grantees. Evaluation should gather and analyse evidence to test out these assumptions.
In working with our grantees, we will:
- not collect any information that we do not use
- ensure that evaluation is embedded in their work
- provide funding for grantees to carry out evaluation of their projects
- provide guidance to help with monitoring and evaluation (for example on terms of reference and tools)
- ensure the lessons and evidence collected are shared with others who could act on them
2) Initiatives
Each of the Fund's three initiatives is evaluating the impact and process of delivering its work, and monitoring progress towards meeting its objectives.
3) The Fund
A set of common assumptions has been identified across the Fund about how social change happens and our role in bringing it about. The Fund will commission research to test and draw out lessons on these assumptions, which include:
- Policy change and advocacy - for example: How is grant making for policy change different from that of service delivery? What different types of advocacy have been used? Which are more or less effective at bringing about policy change and why? What role does evidence play in bringing about policy change?
- The value of evaluation - for example: What evaluation have we funded? How has it been used? What changes did it bring about and why?
- Leverage points - for example: How has the Fund and its partners identified leverage points or drivers of change? What lessons does this provide for other funders?
- Networks - for example: What is the breadth, depth and quality of networks on the issues? What types of networks are associated with successful outcomes?
Sharing the learning
Our commitment to evaluation will enable us to speak with authority at a campaigning level. Communications will be one of the key tools used to achieve the objectives of the three initiatives. This will help the Fund to leave a lasting legacy of change through the specific objectives that we are working towards.
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