Learning Culture — The Learning Philanthropy Framework

What Is Learning Culture

The shared values and behaviours that make learning part of everyday work.

A learning culture shapes how people think, work, and interact. It influences whether curiosity is encouraged, reflection is expected, and new ideas are welcomed. Rather than relying on formal learning activities alone, learning cultures emerge through everyday behaviours, relationships, and shared norms.

When learning becomes part of organizational culture, people actively seek feedback, share knowledge, and work together to improve outcomes. Over time, learning becomes not simply something the organization does, but part of who it is.

Attitudes that support continuous learning.

Learning begins with mindset. Value Learning Mindsets encourages curiosity, humility, openness, and a willingness to question assumptions. When people approach their work with a learning orientation, they become more adaptable, more reflective, and better able to respond to complexity and change.

Maturity spectrum:

Not Yet Engaging	Initiating	Building	Embedding	Thriving
We do not yet have shared learning mindsets. We may: actively value fixed mindsets, perfectionism, or undue deference to expertise.	There is performative commitment to learning mindsets and values. Fixed mindsets still dominate. Learning is perceived largely as an individual pursuit or as solely the work of the learning team and separate from the organization’s work.	Some staff and board members operate with humility, curiosity, and a growth mindset. Some staff demonstrate comfort with discomfort, including tolerance for ambiguity, complexity, failure, dissent, and/or conflict. There is a growing awareness that learning is part of how work gets done, with early efforts to integrate it into team practices.	Learning mindsets are internalized across the majority of the organization. Those who don’t align with these mindsets and values receive feedback and support to improve. The majority of staff and board members operate with humility, curiosity, and a growth mindset. Comfort with discomfort is evident in how the majority of staff and board members engage with ambiguity, complexity, failure, dissent, and conflict constructively. Learning is expected to consistently shape how work is approached and improved. We look forward to learning together.	Our learning mindsets are deeply internalized and mutually-reinforcing. Growth mindset, humility & curiosity are lived cultural norms; all staff actively seek, contribute to, and integrate learning. Comfort with discomfort is one of the organization’s core strengths, enabling it to navigate difficulty and iteratively adapt.. Learning–a great source of joy in our organization– is inseparable from how work gets done—it is how we think, act, collaborate, and evolve

An environment where people feel safe to speak, learn, and experiment.

Learning depends on people feeling able to participate without fear of embarrassment or punishment. Create Psychological Safety helps philanthropies foster belonging, invite different perspectives, and make it safe to raise concerns, question assumptions, and acknowledge mistakes. By supporting thoughtful experimentation and treating failure as an opportunity to learn, organizations create the trust needed for honest reflection and meaningful collaboration.

Maturity spectrum:

Not Yet Engaging	Initiating	Building	Embedding	Thriving
We routinely withhold ideas, concerns. We may normalize exclusion or marginalisation or cover up mistakes. The only reliable way we can gather people’s input is if they can maintain anonymity.	There is verbal acknowledgement of the importance of psychological safety. Staff are occasionally encouraged to speak up. Only a few—typically those with formal power or privileged access—feel comfortable doing so. Belonging and inclusion are considered important, but there is limited action to enable it. Experimentation is permitted in limited areas.	Psychological safety is an organizational priority. There are early efforts to create space for interpersonal risktaking, such as open discussion forums, regular feedback processes, or check-ins. Some staff and teams actively promote belonging and inclusion. Some staff and/or teams are beginning to experiment in their work, with growing tolerance for small mistakes internally and with partners.	We see psychological safety as a requirement for high-quality work, and intentionally assess it across the organization and with partners; managers are held accountable for their ability to foster psychological safety within their teams and with partners. The majority of staff feel comfortable offering alternative perspectives or ideas, admitting real mistakes, or asking questions, and can foster this safety with partners. The majority of staff report feeling included and respected, regardless of role or identity. Most staff and/or teams feel comfortable experimenting with growing tolerance for big bets that may not prove successful.	We consistently and systematically improve psychological safety internally and with partners based on feedback. Staff, partners, and stakeholders feel safe enough to fully express their perspectives, identities, and uncertainties. We consistently and systematically – and with playfulness –treat experimentation, reflection, and learning from both success and failure as core to how we and our partners work and collaborate.

Everyday practices that support awareness, well-being, and shared learning.

Strong learning practices begin with the conditions that help people reflect and engage thoughtfully. Strengthen Foundations for Learning encourages self-awareness, makes space for well-being, and helps people surface the assumptions shaping their work. By treating everyday conversations as opportunities to exchange knowledge and perspectives, philanthropies build stronger relationships and create a more reflective, connected, and sustainable learning environment.

Maturity spectrum:

Not Yet Engaging	Initiating	Building	Embedding	Thriving
We may: overlook our own presence and actions within the very systems we are attempting to influence or change. experience low well-being at work, which affects our ability to collaborate and learn together guard communication in most interactions.	Only a few individuals have an independent self-awareness practice and/or regularly attend to their well-being. Institutionally, we recognize the connection between self-awareness and well-being to better collaboration and learning, but take little action to support it. Only a few individuals typically only within teams, have begun to name their assumptions and share learning, leading to clarity on where there is misalignment.	Some of us–particularly those in leadership–are supported to maintain a self-awareness practice and attend to our well-being. Some of us routinely name our assumptions and encourage others to share assumptions to support collective reflection. We share learning between teams more regularly, but rarely with those outside our organization.	A majority of us across various levels of the organization: are supported to actively maintain our well-being and support one another to do the same, especially during high pressure periods. This contributes to improved learning and collaboration at the collective level. constructively challenge each other’s assumptions to reach deeper levels of clarity and update our assumptions when warranted. Relevant knowledge flows consistently and freely between teams and between the organization and (appropriate) external collaborators to enable collective success.	We maintain expectations for these behaviors into our competency frameworks. We actively sustain well-being as a foundation for continuous learning and high performance. We provide routine and meaningful support to individual staff and teams to improve in these areas. We feel proud to associate these behaviors with our organizational culture, reinforcing them continuously and introducing them to new team members.

Not Yet Engaging

Initiating

Building

Embedding

Thriving

We may:

overlook our own presence and actions within the very systems we are attempting to influence or change.
experience low well-being at work, which affects our ability to collaborate and learn together
guard communication in most interactions.

Only a few individuals have an independent self-awareness practice and/or regularly attend to their well-being.
Institutionally, we recognize the connection between self-awareness and well-being to better collaboration and learning, but take little action to support it.
Only a few individuals typically only within teams, have begun to name their assumptions and share learning, leading to clarity on where there is misalignment.

Some of us–particularly those in leadership–are supported to maintain a self-awareness practice and attend to our well-being.
Some of us routinely name our assumptions and encourage others to share assumptions to support collective reflection.
We share learning between teams more regularly, but rarely with those outside our organization.

A majority of us across various levels of the organization:

are supported to actively maintain our well-being and support one another to do the same, especially during high pressure periods. This contributes to improved learning and collaboration at the collective level.
constructively challenge each other’s assumptions to reach deeper levels of clarity and update our assumptions when warranted.
Relevant knowledge flows consistently and freely between teams and between the organization and (appropriate) external collaborators to enable collective success.

We maintain expectations for these behaviors into our competency frameworks.
We actively sustain well-being as a foundation for continuous learning and high performance.
We provide routine and meaningful support to individual staff and teams to improve in these areas.
We feel proud to associate these behaviors with our organizational culture, reinforcing them continuously and introducing them to new team members.

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