Choose an equity dimension
Data collection, analysis and meaning making should be conducted in partnership with communities, using accessible, culturally appropriate metrics and learning methods.
Foundations
Non-profit
Introduction
Evaluation is an approach and methodology used to measure progress and assess the impact of programs, initiatives and/or partnerships. Evaluation can involve data identification, collection and assessment in order to, for example, gather feedback from participants of an after-school program, assess the health outcomes of cash payment recipients or collect survey data from attendees of a training.
Learning represents the ongoing process of using evaluation (and other) data to make decisions for the future.
Working on organizational matters related to equity
often has legal and compliance implications.
Equitable evaluation principles
Equitable evaluation seeks to understand the impact of the work, to support (rather than critique) programmatic efforts, and to help gather and assess data from a wide range of stakeholders.
Equitable evaluation requires critical thought about all aspects of the evaluative process, including the questions asked, the methods used, the teams assembled and the ways in which data and sense-making are supported.
- Produce, consume and manage evaluation and evaluative work in a manner designed to advance progress towards equity
- Utilize diverse (e.g. multi-racial, multicultural) evaluative methods that are oriented toward participant ownership
- Design and implement evaluative work to address the historical and contemporary drivers of inequity and the cultural context in which they exist
Evaluation approaches
- Gather input from grantees, or intended beneficiaries, to inform evaluation approaches, data collection, and in defining what constitutes success
- Allow grantees or the communities they serve an opportunity to have input in decisions about how to move forward
- Avoid reductive data or simplified dashboards that hide context, differential outcomes, and historical and structural drivers of inequities
- Provide sufficient evaluation budgets to support time needed for relationship building, appropriate testing of culturally competent instruments, participatory planning, data collection and interpretation, and sharing of lessons
An important tool for gathering actionable data is a client or user survey. Listen4Good has developed a customizable survey template, which your organization can refine to use with grantees and recipients. Consider conducting both anonymous and non-anonymous surveys to obtain better and more complete data that illuminates the true experiences of clients, which can inform improvements in programming and more authentic connections with intended beneficiaries.
Importance of learning
Organizations need robust learning capacities to meet their mission, provide effective programming and support the communities they work in.
Consistent learning is needed to achieve impact at scale, yet limited resources (such as funding, people or time), and biases in funding can impede opportunities to learn. More organizations, and especially organizations led by people of color, should receive adequate resources to build internal capacity to pursue learning and efficacy.
- Experiment, test and refine programmatic approaches based on data, feedback and clear metrics. Use evaluative data to inform program shifts and improvements.
- Determine which program elements can and must be replicated, guided by data and metrics, and develop “proof points” to show significant impact with chosen populations or target areas
- Develop plans for expansion, replication, and/or dissemination, built on strengths of the refined model and additional organizational capacity needed to support scaling
