Evaluation Report: Accelerating Innovation for Development
Evaluation Criteria II: To assess the effectiveness of the Initiative in delivering its outputs and achieving its outcomes.
Key Question
Indicator/ Measure
Response
To what extent did the grants awarded by the Foundation successfully achieve their planned outputs and projects?
Quality and quantity of planned products and/or outputs from grants
Strong: Six case studies demonstrate achievement of outputs and projects. There are some delays with deliverables, however, these delays are justifiable due to contextual factors.
To what extent did the non-grant support deliver products, processes or services that were useful, and as per plan?
Quality and quantity of planned products and/or outputs through non-grant support
Medium/poor: Staff turnover resulted in poor thought partnership and weaknesses in shaping and crafting of Initiative. Communications plan not implemented due to poor results, but could have been transformed to a strategy on learning on innovation application.
What factors supported success and achievements of the Initiative, and what factors hindered achievements of the Initiative?
Initiative and non-initiative contributors to success
Factors that supported this contribution include the timeliness of the Initiative in the context of social innovation, and hard work and efforts undertaken by grantees. At the same time, the Foundation’s contribution could have been more impactful had the Initiative been based on a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the need for innovation in the social sector, and how the social sector innovates. It could also have been designed more purposefully to include grants that built more widely on ongoing innovations efforts among non-profit and social sector agencies.
To what extent have these models generated more effective (more robust, more powerful, more innovative, more useful, more appropriate to needs) solutions to challenges faced by poor people?
Quantity and Quality of social development solutions
Medium: Some solutions generated have been useful in a small number of communities to poor people. Not all solutions have been implemented. There is limited diffusion, but this may change in coming years.
To what extent have these processes/ products/services been “more generally utilized� by a wide range of players to solve the challenges faced by poor and vulnerable people?
Quantity and Quality of uptake in the social development sector
Poor: Diffusion of innovative processes/ products/services generated through the Initiative is limited so far.
To what extent have these innovation models been effective for implementing organizations that undertake projects aimed at the needs of vulnerable and poor people?
Usefulness to social development organizations
Unclear: Diffusion through the Initiative has been limited to a few social sector organizations. These organizations are in early stages of using and applying these models.
To what extent have these innovation models and the concepts that drive them been applied or taken up by social development players/innovation agencies/other interested agencies?
Quantity and Quality of uptake in the social innovation arena
Mixed: Grantees and partners have developed relationships and partnerships, many of which will be sustained. However, broader diffusion is still limited.
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