What should we do before a report with difficult findings goes in?
Before a report with difficult findings goes in, talk with your program officer first, so the report isn't the first they hear of it, and come with what you're doing about it. A program officer who learns about a problem in a conversation can ask questions and understand the context. One who learns about it from a formal report has only the report.
To get ready for that conversation, make sure you understand the results yourself. Ask your evaluator to walk you through what the evaluation found, what may explain it, and what the evidence can and can't tell you yet. Then decide, with your team, what you'll change. You don't need every answer before you call, but you do need to be able to explain what you know.
How to have the conversation itself is its own question. How do I tell my funder the results aren't what we hoped? covers when to call, what to say, and how to include what's going well without softening the rest.
What does a funder need to see alongside difficult findings?
Alongside difficult findings, a funder needs to see what you learned, what you think explains it, and your plan to respond. Honest reporting paired with a plan shows that the project is being managed responsibly.
Some funders write this into their rules. The federal Uniform Guidance is one example. It says that when a significant development affects a federal award between performance reporting dates, the recipient must notify the agency, and when the development is negative, the notice must include the plan for corrective action and any help needed to resolve the situation. If your award is federal, check its terms. If it isn't, the same three things are still what a funder needs to understand your situation.
What you think explains the result matters as much as the result itself. A program that fell short because it wasn't carried out as planned, or because participants didn't receive enough of it, is a different situation from one whose underlying approach didn't work. What if the evaluation shows my program isn't working? explains how to tell the difference.
Can an honest evaluation help with future funding even when results are mixed?
An honest evaluation can help with future funding even when results are mixed. It shows you think critically about the work and use resources responsibly, which can count in future proposals.
Mixed results are often the most useful kind, because they show both what's working and what needs to change. A project that can describe both, explain what it changed in response, and show what happened next has a stronger account of its work than one that reports only good news. That account can help you make the case for continuing or expanding the work, whether with the same funder or a new one.
No one can promise that it will lead to new funding. But an evaluation that helped you improve the program gives you something concrete to describe when you ask.
The Grantibly perspective
Lauren's perspective
We won't tell you how your funder will respond, because no one can promise that. What we can tell you is what we'd want you to do: call us when you're trying to understand an unexpected result, and call us when you're preparing for a funder conversation.
We share useful findings while there's still time to act on them. Annual reports and final reports matter, but a project team shouldn't have to wait until the end of a grant to learn something important. When a difficult result comes up during the project, it can become part of your planning conversations instead of a surprise in a report.
We also don't tell clients that everything is going wonderfully when the evidence suggests otherwise. We do that in service of the project.
