Empowerment evaluation supports program improvement by giving organizations and community members the tools to take ownership of the evaluation process. While there are similarities with participatory evaluation, empowerment evaluation has more emphasis on giving program staff, volunteers, and others involved in delivering a program or initiative (the chefs of the kitchen) the skills and tools to evaluate their program’s efforts. In empowerment evaluation, evaluation becomes embedded as part of the organization or program. In addition to having the tools and skills for program delivery, program staff working in la cocina also have tools for measuring their success.
Encourage a culture of learning about program “recipes” and evaluation within your organization and community. Consider community recipes for pan (bread). Kneading the dough well is a critical part of baking. Kneading is something that everyone can participate in, from grandparents to grandchildren, and yet sometimes knowledge in systems remains with one or few individuals. The recipe and ways we evaluate their products, like rise of the dough, texture, and taste, do not get passed on. The more individuals within your organization that understand the logic, processes, and ingredients necessary for your program, the more likely your program is to succeed, grow, and adapt.
Before starting the empowerment evaluation process, consider the following:
As you answer the questions above to check if empowerment evaluation is a good fit for your organization, review the 10 principles for empowerment evaluation and discuss how each principle applies to your evaluation team.
Download the Principles for Empowerment Evaluation handout below to distribute and discuss with your evaluation team.
Using an empowerment evaluation approach would involve the time and commitment from different individuals involved in the program to:
In empowerment evaluation, community organizations can involve a “critical friend” that cares about the program and can act as a guide through the evaluation process. This might be an outside evaluator that shares the values of your organization and has experience with participatory or empowerment evaluation (Fetterman, 2014).
When we invite community members in the kitchen to cook something healthy, they are more likely to join our table and share in the results. The more that we engage those involved in a program’s efforts, the more likely they will be to find the results relevant to their lives and act on the recommendations (Fetterman, 2014).
Sometimes we can feel defensive of a longstanding family recipe and resist adapting it for new generations. Similarly, working from within an organization or community can make us feel attached to old processes. An outside evaluator can give a different perspective from members within the organization (Friedman, 2001).
For sharing your work, see How do I spread the word?
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