Presentation (Slide 3) Flashcards
A collaborative approach where community members help design and carry out the evaluation.
Unlike traditional evaluations, which are often led by outsiders, participatory evaluation involves the people who are directly impacted by the project. This means that community members—not just researchers—help decide what should be evaluated, how to collect information, and what the results mean. Think of it like a group project where everyone has a say, rather than a teacher grading you without understanding how much effort you put in.
It focuses on empowerment and social change rather than just measuring success.
Instead of only asking, “Did this program work?” participatory evaluation asks, “How can we make it better?” and “What changes are happening that numbers might not capture?” It sees evaluation as a way to improve and empower the community, not just as a pass-or-fail test. For example, if a neighborhood starts a community garden, a traditional evaluation might just count how many vegetables were grown, but a participatory evaluation would also look at how it’s bringing people together, improving mental health, and strengthening local food security.
It allows communities to own their data, make decisions, and adjust their efforts as needed.
In traditional evaluations, reports are often written for funders or researchers, not for the people actually doing the work. Participatory evaluation flips this—communities collect and interpret their own data, so they can use it to make real-time improvements. This means if something isn’t working, they don’t have to wait until the end of a formal study to fix it. It also gives communities control over their own stories, so they can highlight the successes and challenges that matter most to them.
