Prioritizing Learning Over Reporting

At the McGregor Fund, we prioritize learning with and from grant partners. Two years ago, we changed an important learning practice: our grant reports. We stopped asking for narrative reports by default and began asking grant partners if they would like to check in with us and, if so, how. Since then, almost all grant partners have enthusiastically asked for in-person or Zoom check-ins and have overwhelmingly preferred conversations over written reports. [peak-pullquote quote="We stopped asking for narrative reports by default and began asking grant partners if they would like to check in with us and, if so, how."] This way of connecting has accelerated and deepened our learning through free-form conversations about what’s on their minds and ours. Often, we talk less about specific programs or services and more about our interpretation of current dynamics in the fields in which we work—the funding environment, state of practice, pain points,