Over the past decade, talk of knowledge work within the philanthropic sector has increased exponentially. More and more roles either have the word “knowledge” in their title or utilize “knowledge” activities. Under a flurry of names, philanthropic initiatives are perceived to need evaluation, documentation, narrative building, story, scanning, indicators, theory of change models, and the list gets bigger. Amongst all of this, conversations of knowledge work are often either too general, too "jargony", or too narrowly focused on the technical details of methodology.
This webinar takes a practical view of why attention to knowledge work is desperately needed in today’s philanthropic efforts. A panel of discussants from various locations (disciplinary backgrounds, types of foundations, professional roles) will come together to talk about how knowledge work shows up in their particular spaces. Their experiences will open up the possibility of envisioning a knowledge field that aligns in purpose and practice with the needs and opportunities of today’s philanthropy. Participants will leave the webinar with a framing of knowledge work that is useful to philanthropic initiatives, a better understanding of how knowledge work is incorporated into various roles and activities, and an encouragement to explore how knowledge work relates to their own roles, organizations, and philanthropic investments.