In response to feedback that one of the greatest benefits of GEO conferences is access to a community of like-minded colleagues, GEO is offering an open forum for attendees to connect with one another at the end of the day Monday and Tuesday. Use this time to meet with the colleagues you were hoping to see at the conference. Sign up to lead or join a roundtable discussion - sign-ups are posted at the registration area. Or visit Philanthropy's Tool Shed-an interactive exhibit of tools designed to help grantmakers in their work.

In response to feedback that one of the greatest benefits of GEO conferences is access to a community of like-minded colleagues, GEO is offering an open forum for attendees to connect with one another at the end of the day Monday and Tuesday. Use this time to meet with the colleagues you were hoping to see at the conference. Sign up to lead or join a roundtable discussion - sign-ups are posted at the registration area. Or visit Philanthropy's Tool Shed-an interactive exhibit of tools designed to help grantmakers in their work.

Leaders who think about "becoming a learning organization" in a conventional sense may drive their organizations toward investing in ad hoc activities that do not ultimately improve grantmaking results. Creating a culture for learning that improves impact starts with leadership. This session, designed for foundation leaders and senior staff, will present new research findings on grantmaker learning practices. Participants will assess their own attitudes and practices toward learning and will have an opportunity to explore with peers what they are doing to increase impact through their culture and practices. Attendees will leave the session with a draft self-assessment they can use to stimulate a dialogue with their staff, and specific ideas for how they can improve their organizations' learning culture. (Pre-session. Advanced registration required.)

Data visualizations such as dashboards, scorecards, network maps, and mashups are creeping into our work, whether or not we like them or are able to interpret them. The increased adoption of new reporting tools at foundations and nonprofits represents a shift in organizational culture and process and a move towards strategically (and sometimes creatively) infusing data into the way we communicate about operations and progress. This session will encourage attendees to explore these tools and hear from developers about how they really work.

For years, organizations involved with civic engagement initiatives have bristled at the notion of evaluating their work -- a process that sometimes leads to being quantified, compartmentalized and stripped of intangible value. But new models and tools -- such as theories of change, developmental evaluation and embedded evaluators -- offer funders and organizations the opportunity to shift their relationship and the culture around evaluating these initiatives. Building on recent conversations among practitioners, funders and researchers on the topic of civic engagement evaluation, participants will have the chance to get up to speed on the most current approaches to civic engagement evaluation.