Philanthropy Evaluation (Phil Eval) Network
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About Phil Eval
The Philanthropy Evaluation (Phil Eval) Network is a member-driven community that empowers Australian funders with the knowledge, skills, resources and connections to use Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) to drive better philanthropy.
Throughout 2024 it has grown to 100+ members – committed to co-creating a vibrant philanthropic evaluation ecosystem by sharing best practices and continuous learning.
Phil Eval has a dedicated focus on evaluation for learning and transformation – to foster a genuine commitment to relationships and dialogue between funders, grantees/partners, and the communities they seek to serve.
To empower funders across Australia through sharing knowledge, skills, connections, and resources to build robust Measurement, Evaluation and Learning capabilities and drive better philanthropy.
Phil Eval is a member-driven network that empowers Australian funders with the knowledge, skills, and resources to use Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning to improve funding practices. Members co-create a vibrant philanthropic evaluation ecosystem to share best practice and continuous learning.
- There is strong demand for capability building and resource development in innovative, contemporary Measurement, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) approaches purposefully targeted to Australian funders.
- These Australian funders include Public Ancillary Funds, Private Ancillary Funds (PAFs), Community Foundations, Corporate Foundations, Trusts, Government, Giving Circles and Philanthropic Support Organisations (PSOs).
- Coordinated support to meet the capability building and resource demand tailored for the Australian philanthropic context will improve the quality of MEL practices and increase funder effectiveness.
- Collaboration, peer learning, mentoring and engagement is critical to model good practice and embed quality capability in MEL.
- As members share and learn, the network will grow into an ecosystem with diverse communities of practice, curated resources, and publications with opportunities for shared indicators and collaborative data collection.
How do we achieve this?
Phil Eval strives to achieve its goals by enhancing and expanding the professional network for advancing MEL capability in funding bodies through:
- An online Slack community forum
- Expert Masterclasses including as part of the Philanthropy Australia Conference and the AES Conference
- Online Communities of Practice
- Hybrid Member Gatherings
- Annual Share & Learn session series
- Multi organisation collaborations on MEL activities.
What’s On
Explore our events and offerings below. Click here to view all upcoming events hosted by the Phil Eval Network.
Phil Eval membership includes admission to an online Slack portal which houses: a library of evaluation resources shared by members; network discussions; network events; peer callouts for collaboration; and meeting areas for the Steering Committee and communities of practice.
The Phil Eval network regularly runs masterclasses featuring sector experts, where members are supported to ‘deep dive’ or critically explore a topic over 3-4 hours. Pictured below: Dr Liz Branigan presenting ‘Funder Evaluation for Learning: Building Deep Listening Capability to Enhance Equity and Accountability’ at the Philanthropy Australia Conference 2024.
Communities of Practice (CoP) are groups of people who come together regularly to work through a shared concern or passion and learn how to do it better.
In 2024, two communities of practice on Deep Listening. The goal is to explore how listening deeply can create stronger, more equitable and accountable relationships between funders, partners and the communities they serve.
Each CoP runs for 6 weeks, with weekly one hour Zoom sessions and a discussion space online where conversations can continue between the live sessions.
Phil Eval members work across Australia, so if there’s a national conference or forum where a critical mass of members will be in attendance, we organise a face to face catch up. Pictured below: Phil Eval lunch at the Australian Evaluation Society conference 2024 in Melbourne.
Phil Eval members meet online monthly for Share & Learn sessions – Interactive and inclusive forums where members and invited guests speak openly about how they approach messy, complex evaluation problems.
Example session: ‘Evaluation for learning in Trust Based Philanthropy with Brenda Solarzano’ On 20 February 2024, Brenda had an insightful conversation with Phil Eval – sharing her ideas on how evaluation can be re-framed to achieve learning and change through trust
Become a Phil Eval member
Not yet a Phil Eval Network member? Submit your EOI here for Phil Eval Membership. Thank you for your interest in becoming a Phil Eval member.
Members are required to fulfil one or more of these criteria:
- Be employed by a funder in a monitoring, evaluation and/or learning role
- Have evaluation as part of a broader portfolio they are responsible for
- Conduct or support Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning as part of their role
- Be part of a small family foundation that uses Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
- Work in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for a funder network.
All members must commit to actively engage in peer sharing, collaborating and/or mentoring about Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL).
All EOI applications will be assessed by the Phil Eval Network Manager. Applicants will be contacted by a member of the Phil Eval team following review.
Please note that information supplied is subject to Philanthropy Australia’s privacy policy and will not be shared with third parties.
If you fall outside the membership criteria, we welcome you to subscribe to join our community, attend future events that are open to all and to receive Phil Eval news.
Subscribe to updates
Phil Eval’s innovative, evidence led, and practice focused sessions answer a long-held call to improve the quality of evaluation practice throughout the sector, thereby directing more funds to the most important causes and effective initiatives, and in turn improving the impact of charitable giving across Australia.
If you don’t meet the criteria for Phil Eval membership, you are welcome to join our subscription list and be first in line to register for regular events that are Open to All, and to receive Phil Eval news.
Meet the team
The Phil Eval Steering Committee offers guidance to shape and support the development of Phil Eval. As a model of collaborative practice, Chairing the committee rotates monthly.
| Role | Name |
| Network Director | Dr Liz Branigan (Philanthropy Australia) |
| Phil Eval Network support | Mary Anne Tuazon (Philanthropy Australia) |
| Steering Committee | Dr George Argyrous (Paul Ramsay Foundation) Caroline Henwood (The Ian Potter Foundation) Cynthia Scherer (Anthony Costa Foundation) Kaitlyn Scannell (Minderoo Foundation) Katrina Webster (Victorian Legal Services Board & Commissioner) |
Contact us
If you have any questions or would like to support Phil Eval, please contact Network Director Dr Liz Branigan at [email protected] or [email protected].