Funders who have ambitious goals to change large systems often engage intermediaries and evaluators to realize their visions. But what does it really take to make these partnerships work well? How do you ensure that all partners collaborate, and communicate clearly and uniformly to advance and not obstruct or confuse implementation?

In this session, we will explore how funder-intermediary-evaluator partnerships—an arrangement that is becoming more common in the social sector—can introduce ways of working that lead to improved learning and impact. Drawing from their recently published report, our panelists will share their experience as partners with the James Irvine Foundation’s Linked Learning Regional Hubs of Excellence, and present themes from case studies involving other national funders, intermediaries, and evaluators. Along with describing how to navigate five common tensions in partnerships, the panelists will describe eight emerging practices for setting up partnerships for success.