Here at the Foundation, we recognise the importance of learning from experience.
As part of our final reporting and acquittal process, we ask grantees to detail the lessons they've learnt throughout the course of their project.
This feedback is valuable to the Foundation as a funder, providing us with on-the-ground insights into the factors that make for successful – or less than successful – programs.
We have distilled the collective learnings reported to the Foundation by grantees over the past 10 years. These learnings contain key insights across the grant process, from preparing applications to final evaluation.
Over these ten years, the Foundation has maintained its focus on Sir Ian Potter's vision of a fair, healthy, sustainable and vibrant Australia. To maintain a tradition of encouraging excellence and enabling innovation to facilitate positive social change, and develop Australia’s creativity and capacity as a nation.
The underlying guidelines and direction of the Foundation's grantmaking have shifted, responding to the Australian context and funding needs within society. As a result, some of the learnings reflected in these documents reference activities or areas that the Foundation no longer funds, however, they have been maintained as they may be relevant to other funders or organisations.
These learnings should be considered a reference point for project and grant planning. Organisations should refer to the What We Support section of the website to understand the current funding objectives in each program area.
The Ian Potter Foundation continues to review its own grantmaking practices and processes. When reviewing our grants, our Research & Evaluation Manager compiles examples of what works, what doesn't, and areas where further improvements can be made.
Our learnings can be downloaded below. They are organised by timeframe (‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ the grant) and grouped by themes.
There are also several articles by Dr Squirrel Main, the Foundation's Research & Evaluation Manager, which summarise the Foundation's learnings to date.
We're Social
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.
