Evaluation can be a complex and sometimes misunderstood term. At CHCF, evaluation is organized, structured learning, typically led by a third-party to allow for distance from and objectivity in our work. In addition to the data collection and analysis the L&I team conducts internally, we also support the external evaluations that CHCF funds. Our team typically partners with program staff, along with grantees and collaborators, to determine when a third-party evaluation makes sense, brainstorm key questions, conduct a request for proposal/interview of potential evaluation consultants, launch the evaluation, and engage in key decisionmaking and sensemaking junctures. In more limited cases, L&I staff remain deeply engaged in all aspects of the evaluation from start to finish.

The focus of our evaluations is on codifying and recording what we learn for ourselves, our partners, and the field. Like many philanthropies, CHCF funds evaluations of work we have funded. We also fund evaluations of work others (e.g., state government, health care entities) have set in motion that we believe is important for the field to learn from. Whether we are evaluating our own projects or those started by others, CHCF supports evaluation to document successes and challenges, to gather data to inform real-time course corrections and next steps, and to understand the impact of the project. In addition to formal, third-party evaluations, our grantees conduct other types of monitoring activities as part of the scope of their grants (e.g., tracking key program metrics, reporting on their own progress), which are important for understanding implementation and for grantmaker due diligence, but are not what we consider formal, external evaluation.

In all our evaluation work, we strive to adhere to these principles:

• Program staff lead evaluations, with L&I in a support role, so the learning stays close to the work
• Deep partnership with the programs, projects, and efforts being evaluated
• Sharing findings publicly to support field learning
• Commitment to culturally responsive and equitable evaluation