Resilience Rubric
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Here you can see all ten of the resilience components and how the rubric evolves from harmful to thrivable. Laudes asks all of our partners to reflect on what components are top of mind at the moment of grantmaking, with an annual check-in moment built into our learning brief.
Effective Leadership Capacity
Harmful
- Leadership is concentrated in a few individuals, with little effort to include others or share power. Communication is unclear, feedback is not sought, and decisions often contradict organisational values. There is no evidence of innovation or succession planning.
Unconducive
- Leadership shows some commitment to organisational goals but remains largely top-down. Inclusivity and openness are minimal, communication is inconsistent and innovation is rare. Succession planning is absent or very informal.
Partly conducive
- Leadership generally aligns with organisational values and goals, and some efforts are made to include others in decision-making. Communication is functional and feedback is occasionally sought. There are early signs of innovation and succession planning.
Conducive & Supportive
- Leadership is mostly distributed and inclusive, with clear communication and openness to feedback. Leaders act in line with values, encourage innovation, and power is shared where possible. Succession planning is in place for most leadership roles.
Thrivable
- Leadership is fully distributed and inclusive, consistently advancing agreed goals. Leaders model values, communicate vision effectively, actively invite feedback, and foster innovation and adaptability. Succession planning is the norm across leadership.
Strength of Governance
Harmful
- Governance is absent or dysfunctional with sporadic engagement; board or oversight body do not have defined roles and responsibilities, operational and strategic oversight and accountability for leadership and resources. Organisational instability exists.
Unconducive
- Governance structures exist / or are immature with limited engagement, there are many gaps in roles and responsibilities, operational and strategic oversight and accountability for leadership and resources. There is limited support for organisational stability.
Partly conducive
- Governance structures exist with partial engagement, there are some gaps in roles and responsibilities, operational and strategic oversight and accountability for leadership and resources. There is partial and / or emerging support for organisational stability.
Conducive & Supportive
- Governance structures are mature, engage regularly with few gaps in roles and responsibilities, providing strong operational and strategic oversight and accountability for leadership and resources. There is established support for organisational stability.
Thrivable
- Governance structures are very mature, engage regularly with no gaps in roles and responsibilities, providing very strong operational and strategic oversight and accountability for leadership and resources over the long-term. There is comprehensive and sustainable support for organisational stability.
Organisational Wellbeing
Harmful
- Wellbeing is ignored or undermined; all leaders model overwork or unhealthy practices and behaviours are contributing to a high risk of burnout and very low trust across the organisation.
Unconducive
- Wellbeing is acknowledged in principle but not put into systematic practice: most leaders model overwork; healthy practices and behaviours are the exception; contributing to a risk of burnout and low trust across the organisation.
Partly conducive
- Wellbeing is recognised as important and partially practiced; some leaders are role modelling healthy practices and behaviours, but inconsistencies exist. Burnout risks affect parts of the organisation.
Conducive & Supportive
- Wellbeing is intentionally built into practices and incentives, leaders generally model healthy practices and behaviours. Burnout risks are low.
Thrivable
- Wellbeing is a core organisational value that shapes culture, practices and incentives; leaders consistently model healthy practices and behaviours that support collective health. Burnout risks are very low.
Strategic Clarity
Harmful
- No clear strategy exists; activities are reactive and disconnected from mission, with no consideration for future challenges and learning from the past.
Unconducive
- A strategy exists but is vague and / or outdated and focused only on current operations. It does not anticipate future challenges and systematically incorporate learning from the past for adaptation.
Partly conducive
- Strategy is documented and somewhat aligned with mission but lacks clarity on priorities and performance measures. It has partial consideration of emerging challenges and incorporation of learning from the past for adaptation.
Conducive & Supportive
- Strategy is clear, current, and actively used to guide decisions and resource allocation. There is consideration of emerging challenges and learning from the past which is factored into adaptation.
Thrivable
- Strategy is visionary, adaptive, and widely understood, central to decision-making and resource allocation. There are deep consideration of future challenges, opportunities and systemic learning from the past which is embedded into adaptation.
Financial Diversification
Harmful
- Funding relies almost entirely on a single source; reserves are depleted or non-existent, creating high financial vulnerability.
Unconducive
- Limited funding sources with minimal reserves (less than three months of operating expenses); organisation struggles to plan. Dependent on one or a few major donors providing short-term support (1 year or less).
Partly conducive
- Some diversity in funding streams and modest reserves (over 3 months of operating expenses but less than 6), but still dependent on a few major donors providing short- to medium-term support (1-2 years).
Conducive & Supportive
- Funding comes from multiple sources with healthy reserves (6 – 9 months of operating expenses), enabling stability, long-term planning and moderate flexibility.
Thrivable
- Funding is highly diversified across sources (e.g., grants, investors, earned income, etc) with strong reserves (9+ months operating expenses), enabling financial sustainability and long-term and strategic growth.
Communication and storytelling
Harmful
- Communication is unclear, inconsistent, outdated or misleading. None is supporting visibility for fundraising and stakeholder engagement. Exhibiting a high risk to credibility and reputation.
Unconducive
- Communication is minimal or poorly targeted, failing to reach key audiences or support mission and strategy. Little supporting visibility for fundraising and stakeholder engagement. Exhibiting a risk to credibility and reputation.
Partly conducive
- Communication is somewhat clear and ongoing but lacks consistent mission and strategy alignment with audiences. Partially supporting visibility for fundraising and stakeholder engagement. Some risks to credibility remain.
Conducive & Supportive
- Communication is clear, consistent, and has consistent mission and strategy alignment with audiences. Offering targeted support and visibility for fundraising, and stakeholder engagement. Few risks to credibility remain.
Thrivable
- Communication is compelling, proactive, with complete mission and strategy alignment tailored to audiences. Positioning the organisation as a trusted leader and enabling visibility for fundraising and stakeholder engagement. No risks to credibility.
Gender Equity and Social Inclusion
Harmful
- Organisational culture and policies ignore equity and inclusion; staff from underrepresented groups experience systemic barriers or harm. No evidence of GESI principles in policies, programmes or communications.
Unconducive
- Organisation makes surface-level commitments (e.g., statements or symbolic actions) without meaningful changes in HR policies, leadership pathways, or decision-making. Limited evidence of GESI principles in programmes and communications.
Partly conducive
- Some organisational practices reflect GESI principles (e.g., diversity hiring, flexible policies), but application is inconsistent; staff voices from underrepresented groups have limited influence. Growing evidence of GESI integrated into programmes and communications but integration is partial and lacks accountability.
Conducive & Supportive
- GESI principles are embedded in recruitment, promotion, leadership development, and decision-making; staff from diverse backgrounds actively shape organisational priorities. Programmes and communications consistently integrate GESI, with mechanisms for participation and feedback.
Thrivable
- GESI is a core organisational value reflected in governance, culture, and accountability systems; staff from underrepresented groups hold equal power in shaping strategy and organisational outcomes. GESI is fully embedded in programmes and communications, influencing design, delivery, and impact measurement.
Safety and Security
Harmful
- Safety and security are neglected; staff, partners, and data are exposed to significant risks. No clear processes or infrastructure maintenance exist.
Unconducive
- Basic measures are in place but inconsistent or outdated. Digital systems are vulnerable, and physical security is minimal. Maintenance is reactive rather than planned.
Partly conducive
- Security processes exist and generally protect staff and data, but gaps remain and maintenance is occasional. Innovation is not considered.
Conducive & Supportive
- Safety and security are well managed, with clear processes and regular maintenance. Infrastructure supports organisational needs but is only moderately innovative.
Thrivable
- Digital and physical systems are robust, proactive, and integrated into all operations. Infrastructure is functional, innovative, and aligned with organisational values.
Strength of Organisational Learning
Harmful
- Evidence assessment (of what is working / not working) is not part of how the organisation learns. Decisions are made based on individual intuition and lessons learned stay with individuals.
Unconducive
- Evidence assessment is present but dependent on individuals and lacks consistency across the organisation. Leadership values learning but rarely gives time for it, and lessons learned rarely inform decision-making.
Partly conducive
- Evidence assessment is consistently used by some teams to improve their work, but not all across the organisation. Learning happens, but isn't a consistent ‘must have for leadership. And / or where learning from evidence exists it is not always used in decision-making.
Conducive & Supportive
- Evidence assessment is consistently used within teams and across the organisation. Leaders actively support evidence based learning; people feel safe to surface what is not working, and what is learned informs decision-making regularly.
Thrivable
- Evidence-based learning is woven into the practices and incentives – an integral part of strategic decision-making, championed by leadership. Evidence assessments draw on diverse perspectives and intelligent failures. Organisation shares learning with the external partners and the field.
Strength of Partnerships and collaborations
Harmful
- Organisation is isolated, with no meaningful partnerships or collaboration; may damage trust with others.
Unconducive
- Few external connections exist, and partnerships are weak, transactional, or rarely developed.
Partly conducive
- Organisation has some active partnerships, but they are limited in scope or not strategically aligned. They occasionally collaborate or share learning.
Conducive & Supportive
- Organisation maintains strong, mutually beneficial partnerships and actively engages in relevant networks, showing openness to cross sector engagement and knowledge sharing.
Thrivable
- Organisation is a recognised, trusted actor in its field and beyond. They are deeply embedded in diverse, strategic networks and partnerships that amplify impact and foster innovation.