Strong grantmaking is a professional skill. Programme officers, grants managers, and assessors who understand their craft — fair assessment, effective relationships, appropriate accountability, and ethical practice — produce better funding outcomes than those who learn only by doing.
Yet capability development for grants staff is often under-resourced. Many organisations invest significantly in programme areas but less in developing the people who administer them.
Policy literacy. Understanding the legal, regulatory, and policy context for grantmaking — the fund's governing document, relevant legislation, gaming trust or DIA requirements, charity law, privacy obligations. Staff who understand the policy framework make more consistent, defensible decisions.
Assessment skills. Fair, consistent, and well-reasoned assessment is a learnable skill. Training in assessment practice — how to read applications critically, how to apply criteria consistently, how to manage bias, how to write clear assessment notes — improves the quality and defensibility of funding decisions.
COI management. Understanding what constitutes a conflict of interest, how to disclose and manage conflicts appropriately, and how to document COI decisions is essential knowledge for all grants staff.
Financial literacy. Reviewing financial statements, assessing budget reasonableness, and identifying financial risk in applications — enough literacy to identify significant issues without being a trained accountant. Basic financial training significantly improves programme officer capability.
Relationship and communication skills. Working respectfully with applicants from diverse backgrounds, communicating clearly about requirements and decisions, and maintaining appropriate professional relationships while being genuinely helpful.
Cultural competency. Working effectively with Māori, Pacific, and other cultural communities — understanding tikanga, recognising appropriate cultural protocols, and communicating respectfully across cultural contexts.
Grants management systems. Proficiency in the grants management software the organisation uses — efficient workflow, data quality habits, and the reporting and analytics capabilities of the system.
Outcome and impact thinking. Understanding the theory of change behind the programme, thinking about what good outcomes look like, and reading reports with critical attention to whether funded work is generating the expected change.
Philanthropy New Zealand offers training, events, and resources specifically for NZ funders — including professional development for programme staff, peer learning networks, and the annual conference. Membership provides access to a community of practice across the NZ funding sector.
Philanthropy Australia provides equivalent services for Australian funders — professional development, research, advocacy, and sector networking.
Grantcraft resources. Grantcraft (US-based) has produced extensive practical resources for programme staff — guides, webinars, and case studies covering assessment, relationships, due diligence, and equity in grantmaking.
Sector body training. Some sector bodies — social services, arts, environment — run training relevant to funders in those areas. Understanding the sector being funded is as important as grants management skills.
Peer learning. Site visits to other funders, peer network participation, and informal mentoring from more experienced colleagues are significant sources of learning that complement formal training.
On-the-job learning. Grants management is largely learned by doing — but doing thoughtfully. Reflection practices, regular team discussion of difficult cases, and feedback on decisions accelerate on-the-job learning.
Assess current capability gaps. Before designing training, understand where gaps exist — through staff self-assessment, observation, or review of assessment quality.
Differentiate by role. New programme officers need different training than experienced staff taking on senior roles. Assessment training is needed by everyone who assesses; financial literacy is particularly important for those who review financial reports.
Mix formal and informal. Formal training (workshops, courses) should be complemented by informal learning — team discussions of difficult cases, peer review of assessment notes, reading and discussion of sector resources.
Include cultural competency. Cultural competency training — particularly for ANZ staff working with Māori and Pacific communities — should be a regular component of team training, not a one-off.
Evaluate training effectiveness. Does training change practice? Assessment quality reviews, supervisor observation, and staff reflection on learning provide feedback on training effectiveness.
Strong grants teams produce better outcomes for funders and grantees:
- More consistent and defensible assessment decisions
- Better grantee relationships and more candid feedback
- Earlier identification of at-risk grants
- Better alignment between funded work and programme strategy
- Less staff turnover (capable, supported staff stay longer)
The investment in capability development pays back many times over in improved programme quality.
Tahua supports grants teams with workflows designed around professional grants management practice — clear audit trails, structured assessment, and reporting tools that reflect what experienced programme staff need.