Ten Transparency Actions UK Funders Can Take

the UK's Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) enlists funders to commit to a more transparent (open and accountable) approach to grant giving. Based on its "Get the Basics Right" survey of 1200 CSOs on how to improve grant seeking, funders should consider taking the following ten steps:

1. Offer CSOs a chance to ask questions before they work on an application
2. Have a two-stage application process
3. Clearly communicate success rates at each stage of the process
4. Don’t ask for detailed supporting information (activities, monitoring and evaluation plan) unless the CSO has a good chance of receiving a grant
5. Provide meaningful feedback to CSOs whose applications are turned down
6. Give multi-year funding to ensure the stability of the CSO and its work
7. Allow grantees to adapt and change project plans and budgets if needed
8. Give unrestricted funding so a CSO can respond to changing needs
9. Only ask grantees for critical information to reduce the time and energy they spend on applications and requirement
10. Allow grantees to use existing (annual and other) reports, ideally allowing them to produce a single report every year for all funders