Episode 3 – Unrestricted funding: approaching impact assessment as a shared endeavour

How can grant-makers let go of the reins to support greater social impact? Let’s explore this from the perspectives of both funders and charities.

Research shows that a diet of restricted grants forces charities to focus on short-term outcomes and operate without stability or confidence about the future.

Whilst unrestricted funding offers multiple benefits – security, flexibility, better use of staff and volunteers, and space for learning – many funders worry about how to assess its impact.

In this episode of “Listening and Learning Together”, IVAR’s Ben Cairns and guests discuss how we can use the principles of open and trusting grant-making to treat the impact of unrestricted funding as a shared endeavour, respecting the knowledge and expertise that charities bring to achieving the best possible impact for the communities and causes they serve.

Ben is joined by Amy Braier, Gina Crane and Chris Woo to discuss IVAR’s research report: A shared endeavour: Five approaches to assessing the impact of unrestricted funding.

The guests explore their experiences of unrestricted funding and how ‘letting go’ of control can create trusting relationships, leading to enhanced impact. They also explore the technical and cultural shifts required in funders moving away from imposing conditions and constraints to more collaborative approaches to assessing impact.

The Guests

Amy Braier is Director of the Pears Foundation

Gina Crane is Director of Communications and Learning at Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

Chris Woo is Programme Development and Resourcing Lead at Trussell

Ben Cairns is co-founder and director of the Institute for Voluntary Action Research, where he leads work on open and trusting grant-making. He has over 35 years’ experience of working in and researching social change organisations and their funders.