Evaluation

Philosophy
Missouri Foundation for Health has identified evaluation as an ongoing monitoring and learning tool that strengthens projects, informs decision makers on the best use of resources for effective programming, and assists organizations in strategic organizational development and tactical decision making. It provides a framework for careful program planning, monitoring and a way to easily view lessons learned through a funded program.

Rigorous evaluation is a funding principle of MFH; thus, and is the single most valuable way to determine what works and what does not. With assistance from its Strategic Planning Committee, MFH has identified objectives and activities to enhance accountability and determine overall program effectiveness and impact. MFH also has established guidelines and tools to assist grantee organizations in their program planning and evaluation processes. MFH recognizes there are different approaches to evaluation and supports a variety of forms and methods.

Levels
From its onset, the MFH Board of Directors determined evaluation would be key in measuring the impact of its grantmaking. There are three levels of evaluation: project/program evaluation, initiative evaluation, and Foundation evaluation. MFH provides funding for the most grantees to conduct internal projector program evaluations to support tactical and strategic decision making. MFH also contracts with consultants to evaluate its own initiatives and, using outside consultants, conducts its own internal foundation-level evaluation.