Reimagining Power and Practice

The evaluation of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Written Reports Alternative Project (WRAP) pilot revealed that Oral and Alternative Reporting (OAR) options offer a practical, values-aligned pathway to equitable, trust-based reporting that reduces burden while improving usefulness with a pathway to scale. WRAP participants reported strengthened relationships and two-way learning, especially when conversations complemented or replaced written materials. Recommendations for others considering OAR include: offer and codify choice, center questions that matter, design technology to support multiple formats, compensate grantee time for evaluation or additional learning-related asks, and train staff for relational learning. RWJF’s experience demonstrates how reporting can be transformed, even at one of the nation’s largest foundations. There are meaningful, transferable lessons for foundations of all types and sizes seeking to increase their impact through deeper partnership. To avoid extractive reporting, funders should “close the loop” by explicitly communicating how reporting inputs are used — e.g., what decisions they inform, what themes will be synthesized, and what will be shared back — and demonstrating follow-through on what was learned

Assessment center · Evaluation and Performance Assessment · Health Policy Implementation Science · Social Work Education and Practice