Understand what sitts behind your diagnostic result 

The Diagnostic Tool gives you a personalised result showing your key starting point, what this means, why it matters, and what to do next.

The Funding to Impact Snapshot™ (the Snapshot) goes one step further. It looks at a small number of your existing documents to identify what may be contributing to that result in your current funding, reporting and impact approach.

It is designed to be practical, light-touch and proportionate. It does not require new systems, extensive data extraction, or additional reporting from grantees.

Why use the Snapshot?

Many research funding organisations already have strategy documents, impact frameworks, reporting requirements, dashboards and data collection systems in place.

The challenge is often not a lack of effort, tools or data. It is that these pieces may not be working together clearly.

For example, a funder may have:

• a strong strategy, but funding program outcomes that do not clearly connect to it

• an impact framework, but reporting templates that collect different information

• useful data, but no clear structure for turning it into an impact narrative

• detailed grantee reporting, but limited insight for board, executive, government or donor audiences

• program-level evidence, but no clear way to bring this together across a portfolio

The Snapshot helps identify what may be creating the gap between your intended impact approach and what your current documents and reporting processes make possible.

What the Snapshot includes?

1. Diagnostic result review

We review your Funding to Impact Diagnostic Tool™ result and use it as the starting point for the Snapshot.

The aim is not to repeat the Diagnostic. The aim is to understand what your result points to and what we should look for in your current documents.

2. Focused document review

We review a small number of selected documents (three to five) to understand how your current approach is set up in practice.

These may include:

• strategy documents

• funding program guidelines

• impact or evaluation frameworks

• reporting templates

• grant reporting requirements

• board or executive reporting examples

• evaluation summaries or impact reports

The purpose is not to conduct a full evaluation or audit.

The purpose is to identify patterns, gaps or misalignments that may be making it harder to design for and demonstrate impact.

3. Snapshot discussion session

We meet with your team to discuss what we found.

This 60-90 minutes long session helps clarify:

• what is already working well

• what may be contributing to your diagnostic result

• where documents, data, reporting or narratives may not be aligned

• where current reporting may be creating burden without enough insight

• what appears to be a small refinement versus a deeper system issue

4. Concise Snapshot Summary

You receive a short written summary that identifies:

• key observations from the document review

• strengths already in place

• likely reasons behind your diagnostic result

• practical areas to refine

• what may need deeper work, if relevant

Who is the Snapshot for?

The Snapshot is designed for:

• research funding organisations

• government departments and agencies

• philanthropic funders

• health and medical research foundations

• research organisations managing internal funding schemes

• commissioning bodies and peak organisations

It may be particularly useful if you:

• completed the Diagnostic Tool and want to understand what may be driving your result

• have impact frameworks or reporting systems in place but still find it difficult to tell a clear impact story

• suspect your documents, data or reporting processes are not fully aligned

• want an independent perspective before making larger changes

• want a practical first step that does not require a full review or audit

How long does it take?

The Snapshot is usually completed over approximately 2 weeks, depending on document availability, scope, and scheduling of the discussion session. 

What the Snapshot is not?

The Snapshot is not:

• a full evaluation

• an audit

• a comprehensive impact assessment

• redesign of your funding system

• implementation support

It is a focused sense-check of your current funding, reporting and impact approach, designed to help you understand what may be sitting underneath your diagnostic result.

What are steps after the Snapshot?

Depending on your result, the next steps may include: 

• clarifying purpose 

• strengthening strategic alignment 

• developing or refining an impact pathway 

• reviewing data and metrics 

• reducing unnecessary reporting burden 

• strengthening an impact narrative 

• identifying opportunities for portfolio-level reporting 

• undertaking a more detailed Funding to Impact System Sprint™ (contact us for more information about the Sprint)