Decision-making in foundations: New publication by MAVA foundation, Gland
« Learning to let go »: New publication on decision-making for foundations by MAVA foundation
With the last grants approved at the end of 2021, grant-making at MAVA has come to an end. Decision-making is usually put into the corner of governance, the MAVA foundation recognises as one important aspect, but not as the only one:
« We believe that it is equally important to understand decision-making as a means of increasing impact. »
Looking back over 27 years of grant and decision-making in their foundation, the MAVA team sees three distinct phases with changing roles and responsibilities within and between Board and secretariat. With an increasingly pro-active approach and collaborative programme development, MAVA foundation adapted their decision-making process along these phases to allow for credible and dynamic engagement with partners.
Now, they want to share their insights by making their learnings accessible to the public – and specially, for the foundations.
Learning to let go: Decision-making for foundations, a new MAVA learning publication, sheds light on MAVAs three distinct decision-making models over the last decades, the roles of board members and staff as well as the centre of gravity for decision-making. Based on their experience, the MAVA team provides pros and cons for each of the phases in their new publication.
« There is no single answer to the best decision-making model question. We do however believe that collaborative processes, adaptive management and speed are important factors for increasing impact and that the decision-making process needs to be built for that purpose. »
This publication is part of a series of MAVA learning products developed to reflect on and share the foundation’s learnings about institution processes and ways of working at foundation level, including challenges faced in carrying their conservation actions – to inspire donor strategies and best practices.
Download the publication here.
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