Case Studies

Education Research & Philanthropy Strategy

Helping a philanthropist identify where funding could create the greatest impact in Irish education

A philanthropist approached The Changemakery with a broad interest in supporting education in Ireland.

Like many donors, she faced a common challenge: understanding where philanthropy could make the greatest difference within a complex landscape.

Stage One: Building Understanding

We began with a philanthropy learning session exploring:

  • The Irish education system

  • The role of philanthropy

  • Educational challenges and opportunities

  • Impact and systems change

  • Different approaches to funding social change

Through this process, two areas of particular interest emerged:

  • Student wellbeing and personal development

  • Academic support for disadvantaged students

Stage Two: Mapping the Landscape

To deepen understanding, I undertook a comprehensive mapping of Ireland's educational nonprofit ecosystem.

This involved:

  • Identifying and analysing almost 400 organisations and programmes

  • Developing a detailed sector taxonomy

  • Mapping themes, target groups and intervention types

  • Creating visual analysis tools to identify patterns and gaps

The result was a detailed overview of the Irish education nonprofit landscape and the role philanthropy might play within it.

Stage Three: Connecting Research & Evidence

To strengthen the analysis, I developed dedicated research models drawing on:

  • Irish policy and strategy documents

  • International education research

  • Best practice examples

  • Existing evidence on educational outcomes

This enabled the project to connect ecosystem mapping with evidence about what works.

Stage Four: From Learning to Action

The work helped the client move from a broad interest in education to a much clearer understanding of where philanthropy could potentially create additional value.

The next stage of the engagement involves identifying and assessing organisations aligned with these priorities.

Outcomes

  • Greater clarity on philanthropic priorities

  • Improved understanding of the education landscape

  • Identification of funding opportunities

  • Increased confidence in decision-making

  • A clear pathway from learning to action

Client testimonial

“Alice worked on a research project for me on the education system in Ireland. She brought a wealth of knowledge on the non-profit sector to the work. We approached the project with the desire to use AI, to do work that wouldn't previously have been possible to do without a large budget and team.


Alice's speed of learning and her work rate were supremely impressive. She helped to design our approach, selected the best AI tools, learnt how to get the most out the tools, anticipated issues and verified the results. I would highly recommend her and am really looking forward to working with Alice on the next stage of this project.”