Grantmaking in New Zealand: Giving That Works is research commissioned by Philanthropy New Zealand, and conducted by Dr Richard Greatbanks of Otago Business School at the Universtiy of Otago. It hopes to provide useful insights into the philanthropic sector.
The research found that the New Zealand grantmaking sector is duopolisitc in nature. While this isn’t seen as necessarily detrimental, it requires careful thought as to how organisations within it, and particularly how the many smaller grantmakers, can be developed and supported more. Despite increasing levels of collaboration between grantmakers, the majority of organisations still appear to function in a largely autonomous manner and that organisations within the sector need to develop higher levels of collaboration.
Some of the report recommendations include:
- develop a national philanthropy strategy document which discusses and develops the needs and challenges of this sector as a whole over the next decade
- develop an agenda for greater levels of inclusive collaboration through New Zealand philanthropic grantmaking
- develop further discussion on if, and how, New Zealand philanthropy can separate itself from teh political cycle and cadence, while still maintaining an effective voice in government sector
- establish an agreed understanding of best practice in terms of evidence based evaluation and assessment and develop a plan to disseminate this through the philanthropic sector
Read the full report here.