Informing Change

Informing Change’s clients and partners include the Advancement Project, Aspen Institute, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Tides Center, Justice Outside, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,  Kresge Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. ⁴

Background

Informing Change was originally founded in 1998 by Jill Blair, Fay Twersky, and Paul Wisotzky as “BTW Informing Change.” In 2013, BTW changed its name to Informing Change. ^{5 1}

Leadership

As of May 2024, Michael P. Arnold and AnnJanette Rosga were serving as Informing Change’s co-executive directors. ⁶

Arnold is a member of Expanding the Bench’s Advancing Culturally Responsive and Equitable Evaluation Network and advisory group, and an alumnus of Northern California Grantmakers’ Racial Equity Action Institute, the Bay Area Radical Transformation Leadership fellowship program, and the Funder and Evaluator Affinity Network (FEAN). ⁷ In 2023, Arnold contributed to a book that was focused on the far-left concept of “culturally responsive and equitable evaluation.” ⁸

Rosga is a founder of Transportations Consulting, which has consulted with the United Nations (UN). She is also the UN office director for the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. ⁹ In an appearance on the Evaluland podcast, Rosga said that “objectivity” does not have a definition. She claimed that evaluation in the United States valorizes quantification as an objective way to establish truth, that social science is entangled with imperialism, and that objectivity is “one of the roots” of what she identified as “white colonialist culture.” ²

Activities and Funding

Informing Change is a left-of-center consulting firm located in Oakland, California. As of May 2024, Informing Change has completed more than 600 projects across the United States, Canada, Israel, and the Netherlands. ³ The organization has a staff of approximately 15 members that are focused on the evaluating the far-left concepts of equity ¹⁰ and social justice for its clients. ^{1 2}

The critical race theory-influenced concept of social justice guides all Informing Change’s work, including data and learning analysis. ⁵

Informing Change’s projects include strategy development and situational analysis for businesses, data evaluation and protocol development, evaluation coaching to integrate learning into daily work, technical assistance, and ongoing assistance for long-term clients. ⁵

In 2023, Informing Change published a report about expanding the critical race theory-influenced concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the documentary film space for the left-of-center Ford Foundation. ¹¹ Informing Change has analyzed the left-of-center Kresge Foundation’s philanthropic practices. ¹² In support of Justice Outside’s efforts to “root out racial injustice,” Informing Change studied what it considered structural barriers that impede the rise of minority leaders in outdoor spaces. ¹³

Informing Change also produces a Data Ethics Guidebook and Data Ethics Toolkit in conjunction with the left-of-center David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The project aims to support evaluation practitioners assess and respond to supposed ethical issues in applied research and evaluation activities. ¹⁴

In 2021, Informing Change celebrated the inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris. ¹⁵

Clients and Partners

Informing Change’s recent clients include the Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund, Justice Outside, California Health Care Foundation, Jim Joseph Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, College Futures Foundation, California Wellness Foundation, Koret Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation. ¹⁶

Informing Change’s nonprofit clients include the Advancement Project, Aspen Institute, Beyond Emancipation, left-of-center Immigrant Legal Resource Center, New America Media, Tides Center, UCLA, UNITE-LA, and Voice of the People. ¹⁶

The organization has also partnered with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Blue Shield of California Foundation, California Community Foundation, California Wellness Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, College Futures Foundation, Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Getty Foundation, Health Forward Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties, Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Jewish Federation of San Diego County, Jim Joseph Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Leichtag Foundation, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Marin Community Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Rose Community Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, ¹⁷ the Unity Council, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Walter and Elise Haas Fund, Walton Family Foundation, Whitman Institute, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. ⁴

Funding

Informing Change is a for-profit entity that receives funding from its clients. In addition to normal service fees, Informing Change has received funding from the College Futures Foundation ¹⁸ and has received funding from the left-of-center William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Performing Arts Program to conduct various studies. ¹⁹

Informing Change also has received funding from a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to advance the far-left concept of racial equity through a program in conjunction with the University of California, Berkeley and Justice Outside .²⁰