Funder Report Card 2026

Table of contents

SECTION 2: ASSESSING POWER

Attempts to shift power can occur at three different levels:

  • Individual: Mindsets and attitudes of teams within funders
  • Organisational: Funding policies and practices
  • Systemic: Longer-term change across the entire funding ecosystem

Assess how your organisation perceives and wields power in relation to stakeholders in the Global South with which you hold a funding relationship by answering the following multiple choice questions. As above, consider a wide range of Southern stakeholders, including: organisations, networks, movements, affected communities, governments (including local and national authorities), and others.

Level 1: Mindsets and attitudes

The following questions are designed to encourage self-reflection on the extent to which your organisation’s mindsets and attitudes are aligned with policies and practices designed to improve the quantity and quality of funding flows. 

To set the scene, engage in a discussion on the following question:

Why does your organisation believe that power and funding needs to be shifted to Southern organisations and actors? (select all that apply)

We acknowledge that the questions below can be subjective, and that it might be difficult to arrive at one answer. However, we recommend that you challenge yourselves to reflect honestly and deeply and select the answer that most closely aligns with your current situation – any debate or discussion that arises among team members is healthy and indeed part of the process.

A. To whom is your organisation accountable for your funding and operations? List the top 5 and rank them in order of importance. NOT SCORED Categories could include: Board, Executive or senior management, Parliamentary body, Individual philanthropist, Etc.
B. Have you conducted any previous assessments to analyse the way in which your power manifests in relation to Global South stakeholders?
C. How would you describe the current mindsets and worldviews of your board in relation to equitable funding practices?
D. How would you describe the mindsets and worldviews of your leadership team in relation to equitable funding practices?
E. How would you describe the mindsets and worldviews of your wider staff team in relation to equitable funding practices?
F. How does your organisation as a whole perceive questions of race, gender, patriarchal power and privilege more broadly?
G. How does your organisation view risk sharing in relation to your funding practices?

Scoring: To calculate your score, add up the points from across the 6 questions above (the first option is worth one point and the last option worth five points). Total available points for Level 1: 30.

  • 0-10: Low score in relation to openness and willingness to change mindsets and attitudes
  • 11-20: Medium score in relation to to openness and willingness to change mindsets and attitudes
  • 21-30: High score in relation to to openness and willingness to change mindsets and attitudes

Existing tools and other resources to support this area: 

Level 2: Funding practices and policies

This section invites funders to assess their funding practices and policies against a set of five key dimensions.

Note: Previous consultations with over 190 participants based in 70 countries also uncovered that there are four key values that form a key building block of equitable and decolonised partnerships: trust, humility, respect and mutuality/reciprocity. We have noted where these values manifest throughout each of the dimensions and questions below.

Dimension 1: Framing and choice of issues

Dimension 1: Framing and choice of issues

1. Knowledge equity: Whose knowledge counts in determining the structural causes of the issues your funding is trying to address? (Values: respect and humility)
Additional question: What kinds of processes do you use to gather this knowledge?
2. Eligibility: Who is eligible to apply for your funding? (Values: respect and mutuality/reciprocity)
Additional question: Are there any legal requirements or organisational conditions that prevent your organisation from providing direct funding to Global South actors? Are there any potential ways to change this? In cases where you do not provide direct funding, have you found low-barrier alternatives that ensure intermediaries play an enabling rather than an obstructive role?
3. Purpose of funding: What can your funding be used for? (Values: Trust and respect)
As noted above, you have the option to complete the report card for one specific portfolio or funding instrument. If completing for the whole organisation, answer this question for the majority of your funding opportunities, in terms of overall funding volume. If possible, quantify what percentage of funding this accounts for.
Additional question: Are there any legal requirements or organisational conditions that prevent your organisation from providing certain types of funding, for instance core funding? Are there any potential ways to change this?

Scoring for Dimension 1

Total available points: 15 points. 

  • 0-5: Low score in relation to equitable funding practices
  • 6-10: Medium score in relation to equitable funding practices
  • 11-15: High score in relation to equitable funding practices

Existing tools and other resources to support this area: 

Dimension 2: Funding decisions

Dimension 2: Funding decisions

1. Application processes: How inclusive are your application processes for applicants from the Global South? (Values: humility and trust)
As noted above, you have the option to complete the report card for one specific portfolio or funding instrument. If completing for the whole organisation, answer this question for the majority of your funding opportunities, in terms of overall funding volume. If possible, quantify what percentage of funding this accounts for.
Additional qualitative question: To what extent are your application processes designed to be accessible for persons with disabilities, for example, assistive technology compatibility, plain language options, flexible deadlines, alternative communications support, etc?
2. Feedback: How do you provide feedback to funding applicants from the Global South, whether personalised or in a group setting? (Values: respect and mutuality/reciprocity)
Additional comments:
3. Non-financial support: Do you provide the option for partners to request non-financial support to accompany the funding, for example, through skills sharing, access to networking opportunities, connections with other funders, and more? (Values: mutuality/reciprocity)
As noted above, you have the option to complete the report card for one specific portfolio or funding instrument. If completing for the whole organisation, answer this question for the majority of your funding opportunities, in terms of overall funding volume. If possible, quantify what percentage of funding this accounts for.
Additional comments:

Scoring for Dimension 2

Total available points: 15 points. 

  • 0-5: Low score in relation to equitable funding practices
  • 6-10: Medium score in relation to equitable funding practices
  • 11-15: High score in relation to equitable funding practices

Existing tools and other resources to support this area: 

Dimension 3: Delivery

Dimension 3: Delivery

1. Adaptability: a) If funding directly: To what extent are you adaptable once funding has been awarded? b) If funding through Global North intermediaries: To what extent do you ensure that intermediaries you fund flow these conditions on to their Global South partners? (Values: trust, respect and mutuality/reciprocity)
If you provide both direct and indirect funding, select the option that most accurately reflects the majority of your funding contracts, in terms of overall funding volume.
Additional comments:
2. Funding changes: To what extent are Southern grantees/partners consulted prior to funding changes that impact them, including those you fund indirectly? (Values: respect and mutuality/reciprocity)
Additional comments:
3. Communication: What channels exist to establish two-way communication between you and your Southern partners/grantees, including those you fund indirectly? (Values: respect and humility)
Additional comments:

Scoring for Dimension 3

Total available points: 15 points. 

  • 0-5: Low score in relation to equitable funding practices
  • 6-10: Medium score in relation to equitable funding practices
  • 11-15: High score in relation to equitable funding practices

Existing tools and other resources to support this area: 

Dimension 4: Financial flows

Dimension 4: Financial flows

1. What percentage of your funding is channelled directly to Global South actors (note: country offices of Global North INGOs do not count in this category)? (Values: trust)

Additional comments:
2. What percentage of your direct funding to Global South actors is provided as unrestricted (i.e. can be spent on anything related to the core activities of the organisation)? (Values: trust and mutuality/reciprocity)

Additional comments:
3. What percentage of your direct funding to Global South actors is multi-year funding? (Values: trust and respect)

Additional comments:
4. Do you track how much of your funding through intermediaries (i.e. Global North organisations, including other funders, NGOs or companies) reaches Global South actors? (Values: trust and respect)
Additional comments:
5. Can you estimate how much of your total funding reaches Global South actors, either directly or indirectly? (Values: trust and respect)

Additional comments:

Scoring for Dimension 4

Total available points: 25 points. 

  • 0-10: Low score in relation to equitable financial flows
  • 11-20: Medium score in relation to equitable financial flows
  • 21-30: High score in relation to equitable financial flows

IN 5 YEARS – no scoring, but critically assess which areas might require attention in the coming years.

Existing tools and other resources to support this area: 

Dimension 5: Monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning

1. Measurement: Who decides how progress is measured? (Values: trust and mutuality/reciprocity)
Additional comments:
2. Reporting: What reporting requirements accompany your funding? (Value: trust)
Additional comments:
3. Feedback to funders: To what extent are our partners able to give us open feedback? (Values: mutuality/reciprocity and humility)

Scoring for Dimension 5

Total available points: 15 points. 

  • 0-5: Low score in relation to equitable MEAL practices 
  • 6-10: Medium score in relation to equitable MEAL practices 
  • 11-15: High score in relation to equitable MEAL practices

Existing tools and other resources to support this area: 

Level 3: Long-term vision and systems change

In what ways will you hold Global North intermediaries that you fund to account for how they partner with local and national organisations in the Global South? (tick all that apply)
Based on your reflections above, what would you like to be doing differently in 5 years as a funder?
What would you like to be doing differently in 10 years?
Are there any other stakeholders (either across different parts of your government, such as other ministries or departments, or elsewhere in the funding ecosystem) who you foresee having an influence or impact on your ability to implement changes based on the results of this report card? How might you address this?
How do you or could you contribute to and support movements that call for a shift in power from North to South?

Level 4: Going deeper - for organisations that are able to undertake direct consultations with their funding partners/grantees

For each of the 5 dimensions, undertake the following four-step exercise:

Step 1: How aware are you of your own power?

Across each of the practical partnership dimensions listed in section two, level 2 above, ask all staff members to assess what kinds of power your institution wields, using the power framework. Is it negative/dominating power (visible, hidden or invisible), or positive/ transformational power (power within, power with, power to, power for)? Which specific kind of power manifests? (For a reminder of the power framework, see the introduction and consult the JASS resource: https://pressbooks.pub/jass-power-guide/chapter/theme-1-what-and-where-is-power/)

Give practical examples
Step 2: What kind of power do your Global South grantees, partners and wider stakeholders think you wield?

Across each of the partnership dimensions, design a process to anonymously consult Global South actors that you engage with on what kind of power they believe you wield. If possible while maintaining anonymity, ask for practical examples.
Step 3: What do you believe explains any alignment or discrepancies in the two above assessments?

Approach this question qualitatively and encourage deep reflection across the team.
Step 4: Have you taken any steps to address power dynamics in this area?
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