At The Duke Endowment, our philanthropy is grounded in stewarding resources wisely to strengthen communities across the Carolinas. Central to that mission is a commitment to build and use evidence – data, research and evaluation – to guide our decisions and support our grantees to deliver the best results for the people and communities they serve.
Over a century ago, when James B. Duke penned his Indenture of Trust establishing The Duke Endowment, he provided clear guidance on the focus areas he wished to support throughout the Carolinas. At the same time, he charged the Endowment’s leaders to remain relevant in an ever-changing world. Today, our commitment to evidence helps us deliver on that responsibility by sharpening our understanding of what works, where to focus and how to allocate resources for the greatest good.
Evaluation builds evidence across every stage of a grant program’s lifecycle: The process of design and implementation, evaluating how outcomes are unfolding, conducting rigorous impact studies, and disseminating findings for real-world application.
Evaluation and evidence are reflected in our grantmaking in three broad ways:
- Investing in Proven Solutions: We prioritize “evidence-based” models – those with demonstrated effectiveness through rigorous impact evaluations. We recognize, however, that even the most compelling research can grow outdated as contexts change. That’s why we also invest in refreshing and strengthening the evidence base for established programs, ensuring they remain relevant, effective and responsive to current needs.
- Building New Evidence: Not every challenge comes with an off-the-shelf, evidence-based solution. We invest directly in building evidence for promising, innovative interventions. Our commitment is to practical rigor – combining quantitative and qualitative methods to generate insights that are both credible and useful for real-world decision-making.
- Bridging the Gap with Implementation Science: Most programs are not “plug-and-play.” Implementation science is the study of how to adopt and sustain successful programs, within organizations and existing systems. We seek to put this research into practice by investing in scaffolding such as coaching and data monitoring that can help organizations move from simply delivering a program to implementing it with the quality, fidelity, and sustainability needed to change lives.
While we are deeply committed to shaping a better future for our neighbors, we recognize the inherent limits of our reach. No one organization has the singular expertise or the vast resources to build evidence for every promising approach and bring evidence-based solutions to scale. That’s why we are aiming to contribute to a shared culture where nonprofits, state government and fellow funders broadly rely on data-driven insights to make decisions.
To this end, we’re kicking off a multi-pronged effort to highlight exemplary uses of data in the field and to share findings from ongoing research and evaluations. We’ll also feature reflections from our staff, grantees, and peer funders about how leaders are using data to work with communities and elevate outcomes in the Carolinas.
We believe that when knowledge is shared and we learn alongside one another, we can drive meaningful and lasting change. We invite you to join us on this journey as we continue to work together to invest in a better future for the Carolinas.
Charles C. Lucas III
Chair, The Duke Endowment
Rhett N. Mabry
President, The Duke Endowment