Evaluation is important for advancing Irvine's mission.

Evaluation advances our mission in four ways:

• It informs our work: We believe that the quality of our work is enhanced by a strong commitment to learning from others and from our own experience, so we use evaluation to inform and guide program decisions.
• It improves understanding in the field: Evaluation results contribute to the knowledge base of the field and allow our colleagues to learn and benefit from our grantees' experiences and program improvements.
• It demonstrates accountability: As tax-exempt organizations, we recognize that foundations have a responsibility to measure and share evidence of their effectiveness. Evaluation provides the most direct source of information about program impact.
• It strengthens organizations: Evaluation helps our grantees identify, sustain and improve promising approaches to work in the field. Moreover, it helps to build strong, effective nonprofit organizations by encouraging self-reflection and program improvement.

The Evaluation section of our Web site covers the following topics:

• Our approach to evaluation
• Evaluations of current and past programs
• Foundation-wide assessment
• Evaluation tools and resources for nonprofits