participatory evaluation
Participatory evaluation recognises the value of engaging stakeholders in the evaluation process, to both inform the process and participants. Stakeholders may be clients or users of a service, program target groups, workers, funders or community members.
Active participation in the evaluation process takes place from the earliest to final stages of the project – including in evaluation planning and design, data gathering and analysis, discussion of evaluation findings, drawing conclusions, making recommendations, disseminating results and developing a plan to improve program or service performance.
papers & reports
The following papers and reports provide some guidance and discussion about doing participatory evaluation.
Baker AM & Sabo KJ 2010, Participatory evaluation essentials: A guide for non-profit organizations and their evaluation partners, The Bruner Foundation, US
This guide was produced by the Bruner Foundation to provide evaluation training to executive directors and staff involved in the Rochester Effectiveness Partnership in the United States. It includes information about program evaluation basics and planning, logic models, collecting and using evaluation data, projecting levels of effort, timelines and budgets, and evaluation reporting, from a participatory evaluation approach.
Bell C & St Leger P 2006, ‘Youth participation in evaluation: young people should be seen and heard!, presented at Evaluation in emerging areas: Australasian Evaluation Society International Conference, Darwin, 4-7 September
This paper highlights the role of youth participation in the evaluation process of educational initiatives. Youth collaboration and participation is outlined in two case studies. The paper describes the programs; student participation in program design, implementation and evaluation; and the use of photographs by students as a form of evaluation data.
Checkoway B & Richards-Schuster K (nd), Participatory evaluation with young people, School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Developed in the United States, this workbook provides practical tools for participatory evaluation, including evaluation questions, steps in the process, methods of gathering information, and strategies for creating change. It is based on work with young people conducted by the authors.
Lennie J, 2006, Increasing the rigour and trustworthiness of participatory evaluations: learnings from the field, Evaluation Journal of Australasia, vol. 6 (new series), no. 1, pp. 27 - 35
Drawing on lessons and critical reflections about the use of feminist and participatory forms of evaluation over a 10-year period, this article examines significant sources of rigour in participatory evaluations.
Preskill H & Jones N 2009, A Practical Guide for Engaging Stakeholders in Developing Evaluation Questions, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, NJ
This guide provides information to evaluators about ways of engaging stakeholders—those with a stake or interest in the program, policy, or initiative being evaluated. The contents include a step by step process for engaging stakeholders in developing evaluation questions and planning worksheets.
