Nothing about us without us: innovating grantmaking processes with participatory methodology

Abstract

This paper aims to advance the state of knowledge related to innovation and philanthropy, by exploring the emerging field of ‘participatory grantmaking’ (PGM) through the lens of innovation literature. While there are increasing amounts of European and global grantmakers utilizing more participatory methodologies in their grantmaking as a means to move power and increase the collective ability to create social good, there is yet to be any literature specifically exploring the links between these two fields. This conceptual paper, therefore, uses a broad reading of innovation literature to argue that it is most fruitful to consider PGM as innovation within four modalities: as a form of social innovation, process innovation, both radical and incremental innovation, and user-driven innovation. The paper ultimately finds that user-driven innovation (and in particular co-creation / co-production as a strategy to user-driven innovation) may provide the best examples of theory and practical relevance for those utilizing PGM as a means to democratize philanthropy in Europe and beyond.

Keywords:

• participatory grantmaking
• philanthropy
• innovation
• social innovation
• user-driven innovation
• participation
• co-production

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Emil André Røyrvik of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and Eilert Rostrup of the Karibu Foundation for their support and guidance while writing this text.

Disclosure statement

The author is a full-time employee of the Karibu Foundation, who is currently implementing a pilot in participatory grantmaking.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tyler Dale Hauger

Tyler Dale Hauger is a senior advisor at the Karibu Foundation in Oslo, Norway – a grant-giving foundation that supports civil society movements in the global South that are lifting up alternatives to the dominant paradigms of power, distribution, and development. He holds B.A. from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, USA and a M.Phil. from the University of Oslo, Norway.