There will always be risks involved in making grants. Being open to innovation and risk is one quality that many people expect of a grant-maker like the Big Lottery Fund.
But we – like all funders -- need to balance our approach to risk with a number of other expectations, notably that of making good use of public money and distributing it fairly and equitably.
So in 2005 we commissioned Diana Leat to explore some of the tensions facing grant-makers.
This discussion paper very clearly sets out some of the many challenges involved and provides a good overview of the subject for anyone with an interest in dealing with and balancing the concept of risk in grant-making.
Read a discussion paper on risk and good grant-making.
Please contact us if you have any further questions about this study or what it found.