How we listen to what our partners need
Porticus publicises the latest results of our Grantee Perception Survey
At Porticus, we believe that understanding our partners' perceptions helps us make greater contributions to social change. We work closely with our partners to improve our collaborative approaches and explore innovative ways of working. That's why we are delighted to share our Grantee Perception Survey (GPS) 2024 results.
Between February and March 2024, the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) conducted our third GPS. The previous surveys were in 2017 and 2020. This year’s survey went to 1,328 grantees or organisations, and 59% responded – a good response rate, according to CEP. We are truly grateful for every partner that took the time to participate, especially knowing they often have heavy workloads. We are constantly looking to improve, and our partners’ voices are vital in that process.
Below, on this page, you'll find the memo with key findings and the full report from Porticus and Argidius.
Where we are already doing well
Our partners’ ratings were higher this year than in both previous surveys. They positively evaluated our performance, especially regarding our understanding of the context in which they work. This really matters to Porticus and is a key differentiator for Porticus among its peers.
Other points with excellent results are the quality of their interactions with our staff, the confidence partners feel in having open and trusted (learning) conversations, and the helpfulness of our administrative processes.
We are particularly proud of the words our partners used to describe our staff: empathetic, collaborative, very supportive, highly responsive, and practicing trust-based philanthropy. Our staff work hard to create and maintain these healthy relationships with our partners, and we are pleased to see those efforts are fruitful.
Where we have improved
Our grantees provided significantly improved ratings for how well our staff understands the context and external factors that affect their work. This places Porticus in the top 20-30% of the CEP data set for this measure, showing consistent improvement since 2017.
We have many reasons to celebrate these results, as they reflect our efforts to improve issues identified in previous GPS results. For example, the 2020 CEP recommendations challenged us to enhance our performance in specific areas, such as developing non-monetary support options, increasing joint learning opportunities, and improving our selection and reporting processes to be mindful of partners’ workloads.
Porticus 10-points response to GPS 2020:
Our intentional actions, initiated after our reflections on the GPS 2020 results,– especially our focus on meaningful participation and on further building our trust-based relationships – have contributed to positive 2024 outcomes. This shows that the insights we gain from these surveys are invaluable for decision-making and for shaping how we and our partners work together.
Where we could still improve
The 2024 GPS results show that our partners want to understand our strategies better. With our different sectors and regional presence, our unique positioning is not clear to our partners. We need to improve how we communicate our priorities and high-level strategy.
We will focus on finding ways to express our strategy, identity and direction of travel.
Next steps
Now, we are carrying out in-depth analyses of the reports. Sectors and regions will deep dive into their specific results so we can course-correct our strategies for the coming years. Our leadership and programme managers will, as always, remain available to our partners to discuss these results further if and where this is helpful.
The in-depth reports provide us with input and lessons to guide and improve our programmatic and grant-making work. Ultimately, they enable us to develop – in co-creation with our partners – strong and relevant programmes contributing to the social change we want to see.
