Lessons from Practitioners & Funders

Several lessons can be drawn from funders, practitioners, and published reports. With more than 30 informant interviews, the following section summarizes the main themes and lessons that were shared in the interviews and a literature scan of published reports.

1. Measuring Outcomes

Nonprofit organizations and public agencies implementing 2Gen approaches at the highest level must identify the family’s goals and track outcomes for the children and adults in the family at the same time.

Funders often underestimate the complexity of what’s needed to implement and evaluate a fully integrated 2Gen approach. For example, they minimize the complexity of measuring outcomes for 2Gen approaches. There is wide variation across 2Gen approaches; they are heterogeneous, and each initiative is unique. The primary target audiences of 2Gen approaches may differ, and therefore the services offered will vary. Services can be embedded in programs that serve either children or adults or both. This variation can impact pace and overall client outcomes. 2Gen approaches require intensity, intentionality, and quality, which take time.

There is a growing understanding that it takes time for 2Gen approaches to mature and produce outcomes. Some funders are beginning to understand that more time is needed because of all the different facets of 2Gen approaches and the iterative nature of the implementation process. Providers and funders are realizing that the timeframe for 2Gen approaches to mature and produce outcomes tends to be longer due to the involvement of multiple organizations, agencies, or systems that need aligning.

The big takeaway is that there are limited outcome studies in the 2Gen space. We are still answering key questions about implementation and measurement. We’re building the capacity and readiness to tell the collective outcome and impact story.
Allison Holmes, The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Challenges for Measuring Outcomes

Lack of integrated databases to track and report outcomes. Or if there are integrated database systems, the data is siloed, and multiple databases are still used.
Data collection is often onerous and burdensome. It is important to consider what data is being requested and for what purpose.
Creating a unified data policy and data culture across organizations is a lengthy and formidable task.
Moving from a reactive to a proactive approach to data policy at all levels can be time-consuming and not well received by already overworked staff.

2. ENGAGING FAMILIES

Both empirical and anecdotal research has demonstrated the effectiveness of involving parents in designing, implementing, and evaluating programs. Often known as “family voice,” this engagement is a guiding principle for the 2Gen approach. Although incorporating the voice of the end user is helpful in many arenas, it is critical for 2Gen approaches because families know best what they need to thrive. If practitioners and policymakers are not incorporating intel from families into program and service design, they may not be creating supports that are grounded in families’ realities, dreams, and hopes.

Family voice is far more than listening to suggestions or fielding complaints from families. It includes families sharing input, co-creating, and designing strategies and programs, and participating in decision-making. Parental involvement in decision-making is the key to having programs and policies that support families’ strengths and needs.

Although there is a power differential between parents and funders or policymakers, a thoughtful approach can make parents comfortable and yield a meaningful dialogue. When done well, incorporating family voice ensures parents and providers are equal partners and everyone is motivated and involved. Such an environment helps 2Gen providers better understand the whole family, its needs, and its requirements, not in the abstract but through firsthand knowledge.

There are several different ways to incorporate family voice, including parent councils or advisories, regular meetings, focus groups, and hiring parents as interns, part-time employees, or contractors. Although the models may vary, the goal is to regularly involve parents and to share input and co-design programs and services.

It is critical that organizations solicit parent and family input in a way that prioritizes dignity and respect. Creating an environment in which parents feel comfortable honestly expressing their needs and opinions is a critical component of a successful strategy to engage families. In addition to financially compensating parents, other supports, such as child care and food, have made it easier for them to participate in meetings to share input.

Incorporating family voice is not just for grantees. Funders embarking on a 2Gen approach benefit from listening to the families who will be served and understanding how families identify their own needs. Funders should plan on incorporating what they learn into initiative design and measurement and continue listening throughout their investments. They should use this feedback, and feedback gathered from sites and other stakeholders, to refine their approaches.

Questions to Resolve before Engaging Families

How can agencies get past internal resistance to involving parents in the process, which is a clear departure from the current approach to doing things?
How can agencies help parents accept that they are “co-equals” and that their opinions are respected and valued by all?
How can agencies move beyond soliciting ideas or feedback to partnering with families to co-create and co-design solutions?
What is the feedback loop to let parents know how their input is being implemented?
While compensating parents is a motivator, what form can funds take so they do not endanger other benefits parents are receiving?

3. Ensuring Equity

Since 2Gen approaches seek to align services for children and adults, the services must be equitable. Over the last decade, there has been an acknowledgment that most health and human services policies are not designed for the families of today, and many were explicitly designed to perpetuate inequities. One such acknowledgment came from the White House in 2021.

President Biden signed Executive Order 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”11 That order emphasized the enormous human costs of systemic racism and persistent poverty and provided a powerful and unprecedented mandate for all federal agencies to launch a whole-of-government approach to equity. Over the past two years, agencies have taken historic steps toward ensuring that federal programs are serving the American people in an equitable and just manner and supporting communities that have been locked out of opportunity. Additionally, President Biden signed a second Executive Order, “Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”12 This second order reaffirms the administration’s commitment to delivering equity and building an America in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.

Recommendations for Funders to Promote Equity

Educate Themselves about Inequities and their Impact
Educate Grantees
Use Family Voice to Support Equity
Rethink Procurement
Identify Policy Inequities
Consider Equity When Making Funding Decisions
Be Explicit with Grantees About What it Means to Ensure Equity
Talk About Equity

4. Lean Into Peer Learning

Peer learning cohorts have emerged as an effective strategy for funders to enable organizations to share information, exchange ideas, and gain practical advice from their peers. Learning cohorts include designated organizations that convene (in-person or virtually) on a regular basis. The cohorts offer facilitated information exchange, training, coaching, and program evaluation, and they can disseminate ideas and best practices. In some cases, technical assistance with program implementation is also provided. Funders looking to maximize their 2Gen investment support learning cohorts for their grantees.

Successful learning cohorts can take a variety of forms. With smaller groups, one general meeting that allows all to be heard and offers a diversity of 2Gen points of view has worked well. When there are a larger number of participants, cohorts can be conducted as general sessions followed by smaller breakout sessions. Either format works equally well in person or virtually. Whatever the format, the underlying goal is vibrant peer-to-peer interaction.

In addition to finding the optimum size for the learning cohort, it is important to include not just top-level executives, but everyone in the grantee organization who is needed to implement a 2Gen approach. As a result, organizations can form a “guiding coalition” that gets people at all levels thinking about how to create their own 2Gen best practices. With that organization-wide involvement, the likelihood of making the organizational changes that support 2Gen approaches increases significantly.

One funder points out that this cross-organizational involvement is necessary because 2Gen is not just a program, it is “about organizational change and people’s ability to build that muscle.”

All these dimensions of learning cohorts depend largely on correctly staffing them. Ensuring that cohorts are facilitated by those with knowledge in the areas being covered and also comfortable with the size and format of the learning cohort are key ingredients to success. One funder acknowledged that staffing missteps, where facilitator expertise was presumed, led to a less-than-successful learning cohort.

It is important to note that while funders play a key role in planning, organizing, and implementing learning cohorts, they also must listen and convey to their grantees that they, too, are part of the learning process, a key factor in building both trust and participation in the learning cohorts.

Additionally, successful learning cohorts do not tell people what to do. They are forums for sharing what others have learned so that participants can adapt information and best practices to their 2Gen “place and space.” Effective learning cohorts surround participants with expertise and support, which they can take back to their organizations to try out, and then return to discuss the results and receive additional feedback.

Participants in 2Gen approach learning cohorts are enthusiastic about the practical value of their cohorts and about the opportunity to develop a network of peers who can be called upon, not just during formal sessions, but whenever needed.

I’m a real fan of cohorts and know firsthand their value. The assumption that you can take a thing and you can do the thing just because you read about it is naive. 2Gen is an applied practice. That requires far more than ‘follow this toolkit.’ It requires one to apply 2Gen practices in real time to advance and improve the work.
Dr. Marcia Cone, formerly of Women’s Funding Network

5. Apply Cross-Sector Lessons

Funders are increasingly interested in applying lessons community-based organizations have learned implementing 2Gen approaches to inform state and national policy and systems change and ensuring those policies and system changes then work for families in the ways they need to.

Policy work can focus on state or national policy change, which requires legislation and executive action. These changes can be labor- and time-intensive. Another approach is to focus on policies that are typically at the department or agency level and generally address organizational practices, agency priorities, internal and external distribution of resources, and regulations. These types of policy changes can create quick wins and sometimes lead to larger changes that typically are not as labor- or time-intensive. 2Gen approaches have addressed policy change at all levels.

2Gen approaches have also successfully informed state policy change. Facilitating change in state policy can be a complex and multifaceted process, but there is a role for philanthropy. Success often depends on local context and conditions, so the first step is ensuring that the enabling conditions that will pave the way for policy change are in place. Below are some necessary critical conditions and roles funders can play in facilitating the condition.

Enabling Conditions & Funders’ Role

Expert Research & Analysis – Fund research and data analysis that provide evidence for policy change.
Public Demand for Change – Support advocacy groups, grassroots efforts, and communication campaigns that generate widespread public support for change.
Champions – Educate and inform leaders, such as policymakers, elected officials, or government leaders, to create a strong political will for change.
Stakeholder Engagement – Convene relevant stakeholders who will be impacted by the change (e.g., business leaders, trade associations, interest groups) to build support for policy change.
Coalition Building – Facilitate connections between like-minded organizations that can broaden the support base for change.

Funders often have specific goals in mind, and they don’t always align with the perspective of governors. They’ve got way different policy platforms and priorities. We explore ways to connect what the funder cares about to a governor’s platform.
Jordan Hynes, National Governor’s Association

5. Grantmaking COnsiderations

Over the past decade, more than $500 million has been invested to advance 2Gen approaches across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Learn about the significant investments made with public funding at the federal, state, and local level as well as with private grant funding.

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