How PIPP is helping to improve the impact of philanthropy

/ News / By

PIPP is a cohort-based research and learning project at the University of Melbourne dedicated to improving the impact of philanthropy in Australia.

The Philanthropy: Towards a Better Practise Model report
showed that the impact of philanthropy in Australia could be significantly improved in a number of areas. The research found that while 78% of philanthropic
respondents agreed that understanding the strategic impacts of the projects that they supported was an important part of the grant-making deliberations,
only 22% of the actually had a social impact framework that allowed an assessment of the impact of their grant-making programmes. In other words, while
most grantmakers were happy to be seen to support impact, very few of them had frameworks and capacity in place to see if funding is having an effect
on the social problems targeted, or how that impact could be enhanced. This has led to funding being channelled ineffectively and areas critical for
enabling impact missing out.

PIPP’s plan

PIPP brings together ten organisations, who will work together with international experts in a series of nine workshops over three years. These workshops
will teach evidence-led adaptive approaches that encourage organisations put aside older approaches that no longer serve as their environments change.
Foundation effectiveness will be enhanced by:

  • improving strategic alignment of foundation activities
  • developing impact knowledge and capacity amongst foundation staff
  • improving impact measurement, management, and communication
  • embedding evidence-led practise.

PIPP will also enhance the quality of individual impact leadership within the grantmaking sector and create thought leaders by

  • developing impact leadership skills and the confidence to develop them in others
  • developing the skills to have both difficult and inspiring conversations with stakeholders about learning, change, and enhanced impact.

By effecting these changes, PIPP hopes to enhance the Australian philanthropic sector by

  • enhancing trust networks and collaboration between foundations
  • modelling learning and evidence-led practise in all parts of the sector
  • developing a cohort of collective impact leaders to act as changemakers within the sector
  • building an accessible and local evidence base around the philanthropic journey to become a learning organisation
  • improving knowledge transfer and best practise adoption.

Improving core impact skills

PIPP has identified three areas of core impact skills to focus improvement on:

Impact groundwork, which teases out what an organisation really cares about and wants to achieve. It cultivates critical and systems thinking,
building an awareness of urgency around issues, and improving stakeholder engagement

Operational excellence, which covers practical knowledge, like

  • allocation of capital,
  • impact strategy,
  • impact measurement and management,
  • impact communication and leadership, and
  • numeracy and information management.

Growing and creating deeper impact, which looks at creating business models for greater impact, governance, engagement and ongoing learning,
and sector leadership.

Alongside the work of the PIPP cohort, the research team will re-run the sector-wide survey underpinning The Philanthropy:Towards a Better Practise Model again this year and in 2021 to see how the entire sector is changing, giving us more insight into whether and how the PIPP cohort is improving relative to their peers.

 

Related Posts

Natasha Eskinja

Digital Communications Coordinator

Natasha is driven by a profound passion for both creativity and analytics, a synergy that fosters authentic storytelling in the digital realm with both innovation and integrity. 

Throughout her career, she has consistently integrated the overarching marketing and communications narrative with the emotional connections of audiences. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Society and the Individual from Flinders University, furthering her exploration of human behaviour and the critical importance of connectedness between organisations, individuals, and communities.

LinkedIn | natasha.eskinja@menziesfoundation.org.au

Sarah Jenkins

Strategic Communications Manager

Sarah has more than 18 years’ experience in communications and marketing leadership across a range of sectors.

Communications strategy and organisational growth is a continuing theme in Sarah’s career. Most recently, she leads the development of a Leadership Movement, evaluated by Menzies Viral Co-efficient Model; a contribution to the NFP. 

Sarah’s early career centred around best practice in marketing and communications which later culminated into the establishment of her very own agency. This work extensively spanned across PR, traditional media, event management, strategy, digital marketing, graphic design and business development consultancy. 

In 2019, Sarah joined the lean and robust team at the Menzies Foundation. She has since crafted the Foundation’s narrative and communication strategy. The development of this strategic communications platform is essential for ‘movement building’ and requires a strong strategic, management and communication skills set. Sarah has brought so much to this important work, which sits at the forefront of communication practice. 

Sarah continues to contribute to the NFP sector through her commitment to Purpose; as she reflects on her own leadership, builds her own leadership capability and contributes to the greater good. 

LinkedIn | sarah.jenkins@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0401 880 071

Rohan Martyres

Director, Strategy and Partnerships

Rohan has 15 years’ experience in facilitating cross-sector collaborations to address complex social and health challenges.  He has worked with the World Economic Forum in Australia, led an international conflict resolution field team in Nepal, and directed a 10-year £40m initiative to reduce health inequity in London.

Most recently, Rohan was Major Grants Development Manager at the Ian Potter Foundation.  He refined the foundation’s major grants strategy, and co-developed a series of large scale initiatives, including joint philanthropic-government funding for a new national organization to support place-based approaches across Australia.

Rohan has held several non-executive roles, including with an international NGO and with London Funders, the peak body of independent foundations in London.  He holds several qualifications including a graduate degree in innovation and strategy from the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.

When Rohan isn’t exploring Melbourne’s creeks with his partner and 6yo daughter, he’s working on his currently weak Australian accent (after 15 years in the UK).

LinkedIn | rohan.martyres@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0404 505 954

Trudy Morrison

Operations Manager

A marketing and communications specialist with over 20 years experience in government, corporate and consumer marketing, Trudy brings her adaptive and organisational project management skills to the Menzies Foundation team. 

With a BA degree in Public Relations, Trudy began her career with the City of Melbourne and in magazine publishing, before moving into marketing communications consulting. She has worked in strategic marketing leadership roles with retail brands and enjoys juggling many projects and tasks simultaneously. Her skills were further enhanced when managing her own communications business representing industries across private education, financial services, aviation, government and the health industry. 

Trudy is passionate about leadership and all people being encouraged to reach their full potential through research and educational initiatives and opportunities throughout Australia. A skilled and accomplished writer and editor Trudy is enthusiastic about bringing her variety of skills to the Menzies Foundation team. 

LinkedIn | trudy.morrison@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0402 361 878

Liz Gillies

Chief Executive Officer

Liz Gillies has had over 25 years experience in a range of fields focused on initiatives for social impact. She has held roles in multiple sectors and academia.

In 2018, Liz was appointed CEO of the Menzies Foundation which aspires to build a leadership movement that supports Australians to pivot to purpose, build their leadership capability and contribute to the ‘greater good’.

Liz joined the Melbourne Business School in 2009 and was instrumental in establishing the Asia Pacific Social Impact Centre (APSIC) and The Centre for Ethical Leadership. In November 2011 she was appointed as research fellow to lead a partnership focused on strategic philanthropy which culminated in the release of the reports: Philanthropy: Towards a Better Practice Model (2018) and the Philanthropy: The Continued Journey to Real Impact and better Practice (2021).

Liz has extensive governance experience, having served on the Board of the Publish Galleries Association of Victoria, Social Firms Australia, Uniting Care Community Options, United Way Australia and the Development Committee of the Towards a Just Society Foundation. She is currently on the Philanthropy Reference Group of Barmal Bijiril and a Director of Philanthropy Australia.

LinkedIn | liz.gillies@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0416 112 703

Natasha Eskinja

Digital Communications Coordinator

Natasha is driven by a profound passion for both creativity and analytics, a synergy that fosters authentic storytelling in the digital realm with both innovation and integrity. 

Throughout her career, she has consistently integrated the overarching marketing and communications narrative with the emotional connections of audiences. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Society and the Individual from Flinders University, furthering her exploration of human behaviour and the critical importance of connectedness between organisations, individuals, and communities.

natasha.eskinja@menziesfoundation.org.au