Recently, a client asked me to review a new grant proposal that they received from a current grantee. The proposal outlined a very interesting new project to address issues of interest to our client – a funder. As we discussed the proposal, I asked “Which of your priority outcomes does this grant help you to accomplish?”

My client colleague said “Hmmm, I am not sure. This is a great partner, a good organization and work that seems really interesting, but as I look at our Impact Framework (an organized list of the funder’s priority outcomes that they aim to achieve), I am not clear about how this new project fits with the things that we have articulated as our priority outcomes.”

After another moment, my client colleague said “Oh, I never thought of the Impact Framework as something we would use before we made a grant. I thought it was just a way to understand and measure our work after we have made a grant. I see that it can also be a decision-making tool for us to use when we receive proposals from prospective grantees”. These proposals are often very well-conceived and fit the issue areas that this funder cares about impacting – but are not an exact match for the outcomes (or the desired change that the funder aims to bring about).

Using an outcomes lens (and measurement) for managing organizations, grantmaking efforts and other initiatives is not a technical or academic exercise that only happens after the fact – it can be a management tool that provides a boundary for the work and a framework to support better and more strategic decision-making.