June 4, 1998 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has begun posting reports about its completed grants on its World-Wide Web site.
So far, reports on more than 50 projects are available, and the foundation plans to eventually include reports on all grants that have been completed, with new summaries to be added each month.
Frank Karel, vice-president for communications at the foundation, came up with the idea to post the reports, which are not published in print form.
The reports, he said, give staff and board members at other foundations, as well as others in the health-care world, an opportunity to learn from projects that Robert Wood Johnson has financed.
“Grant makers are always looking to the future, trying to figure out what is the next set of problems to come over the hill and what they can put in place to meet those problems,” Mr. Karel said. “But if you want to get the full value of your investment, you want to make sure that the experience of grantees is available and useful and used by others.”
The reports, which can be as short as a page or two, or more than 50 for big grants, explain why a project was financed, what problem it dealt with, what was done to combat the problem, and the outcome.
Some of the information in the reports extends beyond what might be included in an evaluation, Mr. Karel said.
“We want to know about the process, the relationships, the people involved, and the accomplishments that don’t necessarily fit within an evaluation framework,” said Mr. Karel. “Sometimes, side effects are more important than the primary effect of a project.”
Making the reports available on the Web site, rather than in print, is an inexpensive way to get information to people, he said, although the foundation has had to hire new staff members to produce the reports.
“The Web offers speed and a relatively inexpensive way to put an enormous amount of material together, and to publish it nearly instantly,” Mr. Karel said.
To get there: Go to http://www.rwjf.org and click on ”Grant Outcomes & Related Publications.”
