Interested if there is an appetite for a field on whether a grant is restricted or unrestricted. It seems like a core part of charity accounting/SORP not reflected in the 360 standard, and would I think complement the field on responsive/proactive grantmaking.
Potentially this would be useful in building evidence on whether availability of unrestricted grants is waxing or waning. For example, there has been some discussion in the sector on whether restrictions on grant purpose are counterproductive to effectiveness (see, for example: NPC’s blogs http://www.thinknpc.org/blog/gold-dust/ ) and I’ve heard some argue that there is little difference between a restricted grant and a contract to provide a service, citing NAO’s work on government grantmaking.
There is some nuance because there are degrees of flexibility within restricted grants - some can be restricted but still cover cover core costs and overheads, others restricted and only for a specific projects/activities.