Three case studies share Innovation Network’s experiences with funder initiatives to strengthen grantee evaluation capacity and practice. Each case study includes a description of the overall grantmaking initiative, followed by a discussion of the ECB services requested by grantees and/or provided by Innovation Network. The paper concludes with a reflection on lessons learned and recommendations for funders considering ECB for their grantees.

The case studies embody different intensity levels of ECB work, and are arranged from least intensive to most intensive. The first two case studies represent projects in which an ECB component was added to a program evaluation engagement, while the third case study is of a project that was purely ECB.

Written by Myia Welsh and Johanna Morariu, Innovation Network, June 2011