A practical framework for value-driven grant-making

In a world where resources are limited but safety needs are vast, evidence makes the difference between good intentions and real impact. Part of the role of the new Lloyd’s Register Foundation Global Safety Evidence Centre is to develop and implement methods to ensure the work we fund to improve safety is evidence-based and effective. The aim is to help all grants contribute to the pipeline of ‘what works’ evidence and strengthen the bridge between frontline safety innovation and the evidence that proves its value. We worked alongside Mission Economics to develop a practical and accessible framework to support our grant-making efforts and potential partners. This framework enables any organisation, irrespective of size, location, or analytical capacity, to effectively demonstrate the value and cost-effectiveness of their safety initiatives.

The framework assists grant applicants and assessors in:

• Defining clear, measurable success objectives.
• Linking activities to outcomes with coherent theories of change.
• Choosing appropriate impact metrics.
• Using evaluation methods that fit each grant's scale and context.
• Sharing insights to enhance collective safety knowledge.

The framework is designed to scale according to the resources available, ensuring that even small projects can capture meaningful evidence without overwhelming administrative burdens.

Traditional evidence-based grant-making often poses a barrier to some organisations accessing funding due to complex frameworks and technical jargon. This disconnects valuable frontline insights from formal evidence articulation.

• The UK government has created two powerful, intuitive frameworks to guide the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies and programs that philanthropy can adopt: the ‘4Es’ and the ROAMEF cycle. While designed for public spending decisions, these frameworks provide thinking tools that scale remarkably well to grant-making contexts of any size.
• The concept of ‘Value for Money’ (VfM) can often seem daunting, with its associations to intricate financial spreadsheets or complex social cost-benefit analysis. However, it is crucial to demystify this concept and highlight practical steps that organisations of any size and analytical capacity can take to implement VfM effectively.
• Promoting the concept of VfM in a comprehensible manner is also vital. By breaking down the principles into manageable steps, organisations can better understand how to make the most of their resources. This not only improves financial stewardship but also enhances the impact of their projects.
• While maintaining rigorous standards is important, so too is the flexibility to adapt evaluation methods to suit the scale and scope of different projects. For smaller initiatives, adopting streamlined approaches that gather essential data without exhaustive procedures can be both efficient and informative.

If you wish to use and reference Evidence for a Safer World: A practical framework for value-driven grant-making in your own work, please include the following DOI: https://doi.org/10.60743/dm2a-5z59

Example Citation in IEEE Style:

Lloyd's Register Foundation, “Evidence for a Safer World: A practical framework for value-driven grant-making,” Lloyd's Register Foundation, 2025. doi: 10.60743/DM2A-5Z59.