Information for a messy world: Making sense of pre-grant inquiry.

This paper considers the application content and processes of forty Australian philanthropic grant-makers of varying sizes. It presents and briefly discusses the methods and content of pre-grant inquiry, and then considers the underlying nature and purposes of pre-grant inquiry. It is suggested that pre-grant inquiry functions, in part, as a sensemaking device that enables foundations to act with some degree of comfort in an uncertain, ambiguous and risky environment. The paper concludes by suggesting that Australian foundations need to consider carefully the bases, uses, functions and potentially toxic consequences of pre-grant inquiry before it is developed further. Although the data reported are from Australian foundations, many of the wider issues are of relevance to foundations in the UK and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]