Research & Learning
What are the most critical issues in Western New York? How exactly do our grantees and partners improve lives in the community? Are we truly maximizing our impact as a foundation? These are just a few of the questions we ask as we strive to be transparent, agile, and effective through collaborative research and learning.
Learning on all levels
At The Oishei Foundation, our focus is on building a high-impact learning culture through data collection and analysis, research, and evaluation
Testing our Strategy
We start by taking a close look at our own organization, and ensuring that our actions are aligned with our goals. This process includes developing and implementing our five-year strategic plan with subsequent annual operating plans, then supplementing these with further studies and reports to inform our decision-making (e.g., our racial equity audit).
Working with grantees
Through strong and effective relationships with grantees, we develop new knowledge and insights to help address issues within our focus areas. As a result, we place high importance on communication and candid assessment of ongoing work. While we celebrate successes, we are equally (if not more) interested in learning from failures, and how we can more effectively move forward in the future.
> View the Grantee Perception Report
Building Knowledge
We support community-based research to build the capacity for an ecosystem of shared learning. In partnership with our community stakeholders, we use this knowledge to challenge or affirm current practices.
Identifying best practices
Our responsibility as a leader includes continually striving for improvement. We often reach out to nonprofit organizations and peer foundations to better understand what works in different contexts.
Sharing what we learn
To unlock the true value of the lessons that we learn, we must share our experiences and insights with others. Sharing enables all of us to approach our work with more purpose, more intelligence, and more confidence. Following are a few of the ways in which we share our research and learning—and support others who do the same.
