We commissioned this evaluation to address questions about the programmatic priorities, operation and governance of the We Mean Business Coalition. It was conducted at a crucial moment when the future partnership between the IKEA Foundation and We Mean Business was being decided. The Coalition was created in 2014 and brought together seven core partners to accelerate business commitments to climate action. These partners were Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), CDP, Ceres, The B Team, The Climate Group, The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

We believe that evaluations should be fit-for-purpose and open to using different methods as long as they convey the message to their audience. This evaluation used traditional methods including stakeholder interviews and reviews of reports to map out results against objectives. It also used metaphors such as “Dutch bicycle”, “mountaineer” and “smart phone” to illustrate the Coalition’s strategic orientation. The boards of the coalition, the IKEA Foundation and the leadership of We Mean Business used the evaluation findings during the grant renewal and shaping of the Coalition’s strategy for 2021-2025.