How can philanthropy learn from and share best practices with other philanthropic actors and sectors?

1 Identify your learning needs and goals

Before you seek out or share best practices, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to learn and why. What are the specific problems or opportunities that you are facing or pursuing in your philanthropic work? What are the knowledge gaps or skills that you need to fill or develop? What are the outcomes or indicators that you want to achieve or measure? Having a learning agenda can help you focus your efforts and resources, and communicate your expectations and interests to others.

2 Find and join relevant communities and platforms

One of the best ways to learn from and share best practices is to connect with other philanthropic actors and sectors that have similar or complementary learning needs and goals. You can find and join various communities and platforms that facilitate knowledge exchange, collaboration, and innovation in philanthropy. These can include formal or informal networks, coalitions, alliances, associations, forums, events, webinars, podcasts, newsletters, blogs, social media groups, and online databases. You can also create your own community or platform if you see a gap or a niche that needs to be filled.

3 Share your stories and insights openly and honestly

Learning and sharing best practices is not only about finding and applying proven solutions or models, but also about sharing your stories and insights openly and honestly. You can contribute to the collective learning of the philanthropic field by sharing your successes and failures, your challenges and opportunities, your lessons learned and recommendations, and your feedback and questions. You can use various formats and channels to share your stories and insights, such as case studies, reports, articles, videos, podcasts, presentations, webinars, workshops, or online discussions. You can also invite others to share their stories and insights with you, and offer your support and appreciation.

4 Learn from diverse perspectives and experiences

Learning from and sharing best practices is not only about finding and applying what works, but also about learning from diverse perspectives and experiences. You can enrich your understanding and broaden your horizons by engaging with other philanthropic actors and sectors that have different backgrounds, contexts, approaches, values, or opinions. You can seek out and listen to voices that are often marginalized, underrepresented, or overlooked in philanthropy, such as grassroots organizations, beneficiaries, communities, or social movements. You can also challenge your assumptions and biases, and be open to new ideas and possibilities.

5 Adapt and apply best practices to your own context

Learning from and sharing best practices is not only about finding and applying what works for others, but also about adapting and applying it to your own context. You can avoid the pitfalls of copying or imposing best practices that may not fit your situation or needs, and instead tailor them to your specific goals, challenges, opportunities, and resources. You can use various tools and methods to adapt and apply best practices, such as frameworks, checklists, guidelines, templates, or pilots. You can also monitor and evaluate the results and impact of your adaptation and application, and share your feedback and learning with others.

6 Collaborate and co-create best practices with others

Learning from and sharing best practices is not only about finding and applying what works for yourself, but also about collaborating and co-creating it with others. You can leverage the collective wisdom and power of the philanthropic field by working together with other philanthropic actors and sectors to identify, develop, test, refine, scale, or disseminate best practices that address common or shared problems or opportunities. You can use various models and mechanisms to collaborate and co-create best practices, such as partnerships, consortia, coalitions, alliances, incubators, accelerators, or innovation labs.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?