Photo by Clark Young on Unsplash

It was a Southern summer, much like this one. I was a child.

Somehow I found myself entered into a children's fishing tournament.

I was not a fisherman at all. I had no idea what I was doing. I chose a spot where the fish were just not biting and stayed there all day long... without catching a single fish.

The reason I stayed was partly hope, partly positivity. I thought that if I just sat there long enough and waited, at some point a fish would bite. 

But I had no data on whether that spot had fish... Whether anyone had caught a fish there in the last few weeks... And if there were fish, what type of bait they would normally prefer. The only data I had was that I wasn't getting any bites. And I wasn't even listening to that data.

I just stayed in my spot, smiling at every adult who gently encouraged me to move.

Now it was one of those tournaments where every child receives a prize (do you see where this is going?). At the end of the day, I watched other children receive prizes - biggest fish, smallest fish, most fish. I wondered what in the world they would give me?!

Well, the prize I received was most patient fisherman, because I had sat in the same spot all day long without catching a single fish. I learned a lesson relevant to my work now, and I think to yours, too. That lesson is...

Don't be the most patient fisherman. 

It's really important for us not to make decisions fully based on hope and positivity - that our projects are going well, that they're making the difference we want them to make. We need data to help us to make those decisions. That's why assessment and evaluation are important on grant projects!

So what does it look like to "change spots when the fish aren't biting?"

If your data is telling you your project is off track, here are some changes you can consider making. In fact, a client made some of these changes, and they have done an amazing job of turning their project around in just a few months!

• Feature/quality changes - can you consider everything included in your project, and prioritize what is most important? Is there anything you can let go of, at least for now?

• Role changes - can you change roles of people on your team - either internally or externally - to better fit the work needed? Can you add people to the team?

• Communication changes - is your communication with various team members working? What changes would benefit your project - more communication, less, different channels?

• Timeline changes - can you adjust any of your milestone deadlines, or even the final deadline, while still keeping your project team and funder happy?

• Budget changes - can you move funds around within your budget to cover the changes above? For instance, if you hire more people or work on the project longer, you will need to find funding.

Just like all (good) fishermen know when it's time to move, all grant projects require changes at some point or another! Don't be afraid to move.