Evolving Evaluation

Journeys With CREE

Evolving Evaluation: Journeys with Culturally Responsive and Equitable Evaluation is a two-year effort that will engage Evaluators in critical reflections of their own journeys, stories, and experiences with evaluation.

What is Evolving Evaluation?

Through 1:1 recorded conversations with a colleague, we will highlight experiences and examples of culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE) within the field. These recorded conversations will be used to develop multiple products, including a final research paper, which will not be developed until the end of the project. All recorded conversations will be de-identified and aggregated within the final research paper. All contributors will be acknowledged in the research paper and will be offered a $50 gift card for their participation. For those interested in a larger role in developing the paper, we will have a call out for contributors in the ETB newsletter, Bench (Re)Marks.

Why Participate?

The fields of research and evaluation have a history of excluding and exploiting the voices of historically marginalized and under-supported communities. Historical context and systemic barriers have not always been taken into consideration. Without honoring these contexts, evaluations may be compromised and potentially harm communities. To ensure these voices and contexts are included, ETB promotes CREE, which requires the integration of justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and engagement in all phases of evaluation.

After you submit your interest form, the ETB team will ensure you are paired with an evaluation colleague for your conversation and will provide you with questions to guide this discussion. We suggest using Zoom or a comparable platform to record your conversation and will provide you with specific technical guidance to ensure the best quality recording.

Preview the Questions

The formation and evolution of your evaluation philosophy, approach, and practice:

• What is your approach or philosophy toward evaluation?
• How has your evaluation practice evolved from when you first began your career in evaluation through today?
• What does it mean to be a leader in the field of evaluation or in your evaluation community? How do you demonstrate or practice leadership?
• Where/how did/does your lived experience provide insight into your role as an evaluator?
• What are important relationships and experiences that have influenced your practice and thinking?

Why CREE and your practice in the context of COVID-19:

• Why were you initially drawn to using a CREE approach in your work? Why do you use a CREE approach? What shifted for you in your practice/approach that made CREE useful?
• How does CREE show up in your practice (e.g., project examples)? Can you share some specific examples?
• What are some challenges/obstacles that have emerged in your practice of CREE? What advice do you have in addressing these challenges/obstacles?
• How has COVID-19 challenged your practice? How have you shifted your practice? What are times or events that necessitated a change in your approach?
• Have there been times in your practice when CREE did not seem like the best approach or did not work out?

Interrogating the field of evaluation:

• How do you reconcile the exploitative history of research and evaluation, specifically to diverse communities, in your own work?
• What changes do you believe need to happen in the evaluation field to advance the practice of CREE?