What is participatory evaluation? ___Participatory evaluation is an evaluation that involves all the stakeholders in a project - those directly affected by it or by carrying it out - in every phase of evaluating it, and in applying the results of that evaluation to the improvement of the work What are the advantages of using participatory evaluation? ___It gives you a better perspective on both the initial needs of the project's beneficiaries, and on its ultimate effects ___It can get you information you wouldn't get otherwise ___It tells you what worked and what didn't from the perspective of those most directly involved - beneficiaries and staff ___It can tell you why something does or doesn't work ___It results in a more effective project ___It empowers stakeholders ___It can provide a voice for those who are often not heard ___It teaches skills that can be used in employment and other areas of life ___It bolsters self-confidence and self-esteem in those who may have little of either ___It demonstrates to people ways in which they can take more control of their lives ___It encourages stakeholder ownership of the project ___It can spark creativity in everyone involved ___It encourages working collaboratively ___It fits into a larger participatory effort What are the disadvantages of using participatory evaluation? ___It takes more time than conventional process ___It takes the establishment of trust among all participants in the process ___You have to make sure that everyone's involved, not just "leaders" of various groups ___You have to train people to understand evaluation and how the participatory process works, as well as teaching them basic research skills ___You have to get buy-in and commitment from participants ___People's lives - illness, child care and relationship problems, getting the crops in, etc. - may cause delays or get in the way of the evaluation ___You may have to be creative about how you get, record, and report information ___Funders and policy makers may not understand or believe in participatory evaluation When would you use participatory evaluation? ___When you're already committed to a participatory process for your project ___When you have the time, or when results are more important than time ___When you can convince funders that it's a good idea ___When there may be issues in the community or population that outside evaluators (or program providers, for that matter) aren't likely to be aware of ___When you need information that it will be difficult for anyone outside the community or population to get ___When part of the goal of the project is to empower participants and help them develop transferable skills ___When you want to bring the community or population together Who should be involved in participatory evaluation? ___Participants or beneficiaries ___Project line staff and/or volunteers ___Administrators ___Outside evaluators, if they're involved ___Community officials ___Others whose lives are affected by the project How do you conduct a participatory evaluation? ___Recruit stakeholders as participant evaluators ___Train evaluators ___Name and frame the issue ___Develop a theory of practice to address it ___Determine the evaluation questions ___Collect information ___Analyze the information ___Use your analysis to celebrate what worked and adjust the rest to improve the project ___Stick with it indefinitely
