Data as a Catalyst for Change.
Data and research inform every aspect of the RLD Foundation’s philanthropic practice. Data isn’t just a compliance exercise or retroactive measure to evaluate funding; the RLD Foundation actively uses data to shape strategy, identify opportunity, and accelerate change.
The RLD Foundation strives to be a learning organization that values thoughtful iteration, measures what matters, and learns in close partnership with grantees and communities. These data practices aim to create a continuous cycle of inquiry, insight, and action within the RLD Foundation, across our grantee partners, and throughout Chicago’s social sector ecosystem.
The Foundation’s data work focuses on:
- Generating insights through research, evidence synthesis, and data analysis
- Embedding strategic learning into grantmaking through portfolio-level monitoring and evaluation
- Supporting grantee and ecosystem data capacity
- Strengthening shared data infrastructure across the sector
- Contributing knowledge publicly through research and thought partnership
“If you know you’re on a winning team, you move ahead a lot faster.”
Richard L. Duchossois
On Evaluation and Learning
The best data available is the lived experience of the communities the RLD Foundation’s work is intended to benefit. This principle shapes everything about the Foundation’s evaluation practice, from what is measured to the partners engaged in designing those measurements.
The RLD Foundation focuses on learning at the portfolio level: stepping back to understand how and where progress is advancing across initiatives, why that progress is happening (or not), and how strategies can be refined to better support partners working to shift systems. In partnership with grantees, the Foundation articulates clear hypotheses and learning questions, develops plans to test assumptions, and creates regular space for reflection and shared sense-making.
The RLD Foundation tracks what matters for community impact, not just what’s easy to count. And then documents what is tried and what is learned, embracing transparency about both insights and uncertainties. The intended result is philanthropy that adapts, improves, and drives real change.
