Checklist: Internal Roles and Processes

Make it real: This checklist is a tool for foundations to assess and plan internal roles and processes around knowledge sharing. Which of the items are in place at your foundation? Which could be established in the near term? If you have 1-5 of these in place, think about a way to start a conversation about the importance of knowledge sharing. If you get 6-8, think about ways to up your game. If you have 9+, you’re a champ!

  • Foundation leaders encourage and model knowledge sharing externally and internally.
  • A designated staff member leads knowledge management by proactively assisting with knowledge preparation and serving as a resource.
  • Staff are aware of a range of ways to share knowledge externally.
  • Staff meetings routinely include opportunities to identify and share knowledge.
  • Projects and work plans budget time for knowledge reflection, summarizing, and sharing.
  • Requests for proposals for external evaluation include resources for knowledge sharing.
  • Grantee reports are in a ready framework for sharing lessons learned, and grantees are made aware this knowledge will be shared.
  • Communications are prepared with the needs of audiences in mind.
  • Staff vet communications with grantees and other critical stakeholders before public release.
  • Staff actively connect knowledge to target audiences in addition to using passive dissemination techniques.
  • Knowledge shared internally is typically reviewed and shared with external audiences.

Takeaways are critical, bite-sized resources either excerpted from our guides or written by Candid Learning for Funders using the guide's research data or themes post-publication. Attribution is given if the takeaway is a quotation.

This takeaway was derived from Open for Good.