Your programs rely on grant money for effective educational strategies and thriving students. Timely, accurate, and impactful grant reports are crucial to success. When done right, grant reports demonstrate compliance, build trust and collaboration, promote enduring relationships with funders, and facilitate future funding opportunities. However, weak reports lacking in detail or acknowledgment can build barriers.
Leaders must prioritize engagement to meet funders’ expectations. Engaging with students, parents, staff, and other interested parties allows leaders to identify their needs, concerns, and expectations and tailor strategies to address them. Acknowledging and accommodating their diverse perspectives builds trust, support, and goodwill.
Prioritizing community insights to optimize your report can be time-consuming and costly—leaving you with unanswered questions and a lack of concrete actions. So, how do you effectively engage your partners—funders, staff, and students—to understand their nuanced responses, nail your grant report, and future-proof your funder relationships?
Look beyond quantitative data from traditional survey results and level up your engagement initiatives with cutting-edge AI technology. In this guide, discover how to use qualitative data to solve complex problems and understand your participants’ experiences and expectations. Rely on AI analysis to get comprehensive next steps.
In record time, you’ll quickly uncover the why behind your challenges and surface solutions to create a faster, easier feedback and reporting cycle—and more effective reports.
Qualitative data & AI analysis for next-level engagement
As you create a grant report that’s comprehensive, accurate, and meets your funding organization’s needs, ensuring your participants are engaged, heard, and represented is critical. That’s where qualitative data with AI analysis comes in.
We know data is pivotal in higher education. It surfaces solutions to complex issues like enrollment and affordability and improves decision-making, student success, and diversity. With cutting-edge AI technology, good data is essential for navigating change and enhancing student learning and experiences. It makes sense that it plays a vital role in a strong grant report.
Why qualitative data matters in higher education
While quantitative data provides the what, qualitative data lets leaders pinpoint and understand the why behind participant perspectives. This is especially important when writing a solid grant report.
According to Qualitative Research Approach in Higher Education: Application, Challenges and Opportunities, qualitative research illuminates complex phenomena, providing a rich description of experiences and perspectives. The study recommends that higher education researchers adopt qualitative research to comprehensively understand experiences and perspectives when exploring complex educational phenomena.
Jason Levin, executive director of WGU Labs, an EdTech incubation, research, and design arm of Western Governors University, agrees. As a former VP of institutional research, he knows that decisions based on quantitative data alone reveal an incomplete and often biased picture, focusing on what can be measured, not why it matters.
He says, “We simply can’t ‘numbers our way’ into understanding students’ unique challenges, especially those from under-resourced communities. As leaders make investments to gather, analyze and act on institutional information, part of the data set has to be qualitative.”
He adds, “Qualitative data provides context to quantitative data, enabling researchers and learning experience designers to create personalized, agile solutions that better support students. By bringing together multiple types of data, we can interrogate purely numerical institutional findings and determine their limitations and potential biases.”
Levin cites this example: higher education institutions use sophisticated models, relying on things like high school GPAs, credit hours, working status, and whether the student’s parents attended higher education to understand why students “stop out.” Although time-consuming and costly, this doesn’t tell us why.
The data points are not push factors. Levin says it’s not the same as “sitting at the kitchen table with them when they say, ‘I can’t do it anymore because I can’t find childcare. I have to withdraw.’
AI for timely data analysis & comprehensive next steps
AI advancements have transformed the engagement landscape, making data gathering, analysis, and reporting easier and more efficient.
While challenges in qualitative research include a poor understanding of its potential, a lack of time, and sufficient funding, using an engagement platform that leverages AI technology in data collection and analysis can help. Combining quantitative and qualitative data with cutting-edge data analysis will give you the whole picture and the next steps to optimize engagement initiatives.
The principles of engagement remain the same—collaboration and shared purpose, transparency and trust, impact and action—but AI is vastly improving our ability to achieve them.
When implemented properly, AI technology enhances the ability to:
Use deep qualitative data and efficient analytics to understand participant feedback and the actions needed to make an impact.
Save time and create a closed-loop engagement strategy with AI-driven analytics to quickly summarize key points, create action plans, and encourage further discussion.
Maximize engagement outcomes by digging deeper into respondents’ thoughts through conversational AI.
Get the next steps with analytics that provide a more enlightening perspective than traditional quantitative analysis.
Provide participants with a personalized survey experience that gives them the freedom to provide authentic, rich qualitative feedback. In return, you’ll get the most accurate and useful data around key topics of concern.
Fast, in-depth data analysis is essential for delivering comprehensive reports to partners, including funders, departments, and the public. Gathering qualitative feedback ensures a richer understanding of outcomes and a better participant experience.
Five ways to improve your grant report
As you work through your grant report, consider these five ways to make the most of the qualitative data from your engagements. These tips will help you enhance your engagements, improve your relationships with funders, build better funding outcomes—and ultimately write a better report.
1. Gather data about the project's implementation, progress, and outcomes
Your participants’ essential insights are critical to a successful grant report. Engage with them to gather data about the project’s implementation, progress, and outcomes to ensure your grant report is on point.
Why you need better qualitative data
Contextual insights: Qualitative data takes you beyond what quantitative data alone can offer, providing rich, detailed narratives for deeper context and understanding of the project's implementation and outcomes. This can include personal stories, local conditions, and unique community-specific challenges.
Benefits of AI
Conversational AI engagement methods let you quickly and easily investigate sensitive topics and gather accurate qualitative data. They allow you to interview participants simultaneously, one-on-one, for a comprehensive view of emerging themes.
Tips for using ThoughtExchange
Use Exchanges—large-scale anonymous focus group conversations that provide transparency into community perspectives and priorities—to get crucial insights into what’s working and what you can improve.
If you choose a regular survey, add Deep Dive questions for qualitative data. AI prompts participants with open-ended questions to add context to quantitative answers.
Talk to participants one-on-one, simultaneously with our Interview tool, to gather specific qualitative data through engaging two-way AI-driven conversations. With AI summaries and responses, participants see their responses repeated back to them and feel heard.
2. Analyze data to understand the project's impact, effectiveness, and areas for improvement
Rely on AI-powered analytics to analyze data and understand the project’s impact. Find out where the project was successful and get actionable insights for improvements.
Why you need better qualitative data
Identifying themes: Qualitative data helps identify recurring themes and patterns that quantitative data may not surface. Participant narratives can highlight specific aspects of the project's impact and effectiveness, offering insights into successes and failures.
Benefits of AI
Immediately get a head start on the data analysis process as results come in for to-the-minute insights. AI analysis tools can instantly summarize large quantities of qualitative data and custom prompts can analyze data from different angles and recommend actions.
Tips for using ThoughtExchange
Take advantage of integrated AI analytics that work on your qualitative and quantitative data when your engagement starts for quick, in-depth group insights.
Engage participants with a survey to get their insights.
Use features like Advisor to instantly analyze data to get to the why and recommend next steps.
3. Draft report detailing project activities, outcomes, challenges, and lessons learned
Use participants’ perspectives to help inform your report draft, ensuring you include real-life examples of activities, outcomes, challenges, and lessons learned.
Why you need better qualitative data
Illustrative examples: Incorporating direct quotes and participant stories can vividly illustrate the project's impact, making the report more engaging and relatable. These narratives help to humanize the data and provide concrete examples of the project's outcomes and challenges.
Benefits of AI
AI engagement tools allow you to hear from thousands of participants simultaneously and get summarized insights and next steps.
Tips for using ThoughtExchange
Gather data from thousands of participants with a survey or Exchange to understand and outline project activities and challenges.
AI-powered tools like Advisor can instantly analyze and summarize insights from your entire community.
Reports is a great tool for creating custom, shareable summaries about your Exchange results. Generating an Interactive Web Report is a fast, easy way to close the loop with your participants while keeping them engaged. It’s also a great place to share your next steps and the link to a follow-up engagement.
4. Review draft report for accuracy, clarity, and completeness, and make necessary revisions.
Allow participants to weigh in on your draft to ensure accuracy, clarity, and completeness. Revise as necessary.
Why you need better qualitative data
Enhanced accuracy: Including participant feedback on your draft report ensures you accurately represent their experiences and perspectives. This can help identify and correct any inaccuracies or gaps in the report, leading to a more precise and comprehensive final document. Incorporating participant feedback builds trust, confidence, and increased engagement.
Benefits of AI
Use conversational AI engagement to talk to participants one-on-one for quick, accurate revision insights.
Tips for using ThoughtExchange
Engage with partners to gather insights on your report’s accuracy, clarity, and completeness and determine what you need to change.
Use quantitative surveys for staff engagement—then dig deeper. Talk to participants one-on-one, simultaneously with our Interview tool, or choose deep dives for sensitive, in-depth conversations.
5. Submit final report to the funding organization and follow up to address any questions or additional requests.
Submit your final report. Get ahead of any potential questions or requests so you can follow up as needed.
Why you need better qualitative data
Anticipate questions: Qualitative data provides a deeper understanding of the project's context and outcomes, which can help anticipate and address potential questions from the funding organization. Detailed narratives and participant insights make it easier to provide comprehensive and satisfactory responses during follow-up.
Benefits of AI
AI analytics provide the limitless ability to further action engagement data in seconds—whether producing short or long-form reports, making recommendations for next steps and actions, or expanding on results.
Tips for using ThoughtExchange
Use AI-powered Advisor to analyze your engagement results quickly.
Next, get an overview of your data analysis, as well as talking points and summaries.
Use custom or templated prompts to ask Advisor more questions or to dig into next steps.
[Georgetown testimonial TBD]
Write more successful grant reports with ThoughtExchange
Engage with your community at each step of the grant reporting process to ensure that the report is accurate, comprehensive, credible, and impactful. By incorporating diverse perspectives and insights, the report will truly reflect the project's achievements and challenges, fostering trust and transparency with the funding organization, which is key to strong relationships and future funding opportunities.
With an engagement platform like ThoughtExchange, you get instant AI-powered qualitative and quantitative data, quickly uncover the "why" behind your challenges, and surface solutions in record time, creating a faster, easier feedback and reporting cycle and more successful reports.
Take the tour to learn how ThoughtExchange can help you create your most effective grant report.
NOTES
Theme: engagement and reporting to funders in higher ed
Future of Higher Ed Funding: Streamlining your engagement and grant reporting
TE GETS YOU MONEY
Possible outline:
Intro and importance of engagement for program funding and grant reports
Leveraging AI engagement and analysis tech for grant reporting
Engagement pathways & what grantors are looking for in a report
Anonymized examples & Conclusion
https://thoughtexchange.highspot.com/search?q=engagement+pathways
Qualitative data: being able to pinpoint their perspectives/getting to the why/more effective funding decisions/tailoring program to participants
Faster cycle of feedback and reporting: prioritize public engagement and gather meaningful feedback.
Faster and more thorough reporting to funders, more accurate placement of funding
Fast and deep analysis of complex qualitative data is essential for delivering comprehensive reports to funders, departments, the public, and other interested parties.
Effective feedback and reporting are crucial for the success of initiatives within higher education.
Gathering qualitative feedback over quantitative ensures a richer understanding of outcomes, better experience for participants.
Centers of excellence must prioritize public engagement and gather meaningful feedback.
Institutions can create a cycle of feedback and reporting that not only meets stakeholder expectations but also supports the development of more effective educational strategies.
Grant engagement & reporting process:
Results and Impact. (participant-prioritized data) Engage program participants & partners to evaluate program outcomes
Challenges and Lessons Learned. (Advisor custom analyze data)
Next Steps. (Advisor )
Reporting (Reports)
Re-engage the data for future grant applications (submitting several at once), economizing data
Engagement pathway for Higher Ed engagement
Building Trust With Partners
A well-crafted grant report goes beyond mere compliance with the funder's conditions; it plays a crucial role in building trust with partners.
Here’s how grant reporting can help establish this trust with different audiences:
Board Members, for instance, consistently read the grant reports to gauge the effectiveness of the projects and the extent of the grant's impact.
These reports also serve as potent tools to inspire and engage potential community partners.
They provide a transparent view of your work, thereby fostering partnerships based on shared values and objectives.
Lastly, your donors, both existing and prospective, might also review these reports. A well-structured and detailed grant report can reassure your current donors about the responsible use of their contributions and may encourage potential donors by demonstrating your organization's capacity to deliver results.
By showcasing the positive outcomes of your project through a grant report, you can also attract other potential funders who may be interested in supporting your cause.
Ensuring Accountability
Grant reports serve as a mechanism for accountability. Funders provide resources with the expectation that they will be utilized effectively and responsibly to drive change.
Securing Future Funding
Finally, an insightful, comprehensive, and fact-based grant report can serve as a powerful tool for securing future funding.
When to submit:
Grant period: 1 to 5 years (1 year for first grant)
A final report typically comes about 30 days after the end of the grant period
An interim report or progress report typically comes about half-way through the grant period. (For multi-year grants, you may need to submit multiple progress reports, typically on an annual basis).
What are funders looking for in a grant report?
The Center for Effective Philanthropy frames a grant report as a key opportunity for funders to explore the space between what they hoped for from a grantee, and what actually happened. And through that lens, a grant report can serve many possible purposes, including:
Accountability: to confirm grant money has been used for its intended purposes
Documentation: a record of a grantee’s activities and history with the funder
Grantee support and relationship building: part of an ongoing conversation with grantees about what they are learning and what they need
Grantee assessment: to understand if a grantee is a priority for future funding or could benefit from capacity support and connections
Grantmaker learning to inform decision-making: to determine if a funding strategy is effective and worthwhile
Engage Others: sharing grantees’ data, stories and lessons with community stakeholders to encourage other investment
Building a field: to contribute knowledge to a field of work, especially a newer one