The philanthropic world, poked and prodded by a wave of new donors fresh from success in the business world, is grappling with the issue of evaluation. How do we know that grants – or, as they are now often called, reflecting the influence of the profit-making sector, “investments” – are making an impact?

Evaluation in some form is something every organisation has to think about and plan. Whether it’s reaching customers, losing weight or teaching kids to read, we accept the fact that you don’t know how you are doing if you don’t have measurement. Why should foundations and charities be any different?