EvalByte: Tackling Challenge Areas in Evaluation

EvalByte
Tackling Challenge Areas in Evaluation
Written by Anja Džunić (ECN Research Assistant)
What is the context of the project?
Since the establishment of the Evaluation Capacity Network
(ECN) in 2014, the network has led many engagement sessions
with partners, network members, communities, students, and
other stakeholders. Throughout these conversations, several
topics were identified as challenges in the evaluation field, but
also as areas of opportunity. Four challenge areas in particular
were emphasized that deserve ECN’s attention and resources.
Capacity Building: There is a need to support community
organizations through ongoing, tailored learning
opportunities, and in implementing their evaluations.
Culturally Responsive: Culturally responsive and equity,
diversity, and inclusion must be at the forefront of ECN’s
partnership activities, and the resources and learning
opportunities it provides.
Decolonization: There is a need to deepen understanding of
Indigenous approaches to evaluation, and to build stronger
relationships with Indigenous evaluators.
Evaluation Context: Evaluation must be demystified to make
it more accessible. This includes advocating for viewing
evaluation through a learning orientation and promoting
evaluative thinking in organizations and system.
The ECN wanted to explore these challenge areas more, and
invited partners, members, and students to join design teams.
The aim of this engagement process is to develop prototypes
that the ECN can use to address the four challenges areas.
Key points
THE ECN IS A NETWORK
COMMITTED TO ADVANCING
EVALUATION CAPACITY TO
IMPROVE EARLY CHILDHOOD
PRACTICE, PROGRAMS, AND
POLICY
DIALOGUES IDENTIFIED 4
CHALLENGE AREAS: CAPACITY
BUILDING, CULTURALLY
RESPONSIVE, DECOLONIZATION,
AND EVALUATION CONTEXT
DESIGN TEAMS ARE DEVELOPING
PROTOTYPES FOR HOW TO MOVE
FORWARD IN THE FOUR AREAS
THE PROJECT WILL ADVANCE
PRACTICE AND KNOWLEDGE OF
THE CHALLENGE AREAS IN
EVALUATION
December 2022

Who is the ECN?
The ECN, hosted within the
Community-University Partnership
at the University of Alberta, is a
network of individuals and
organizations from across Canada
and the United States who are
committed to advancing evaluation
capacity in the field of early
childhood development. This is
accomplished through communitydriven,
culturally responsive, and
action oriented capacity building
opportunities, activities, and resources. Its goal is
to collaboratively develop community-driven and
culturally responsive approaches for producing
and using evidence to improve early childhood
practice, programs, and policy towards system
effectiveness.
What is the project working
on?
In November, the ECN hosted a virtual partnership
meeting to further discuss the four challenge
areas. Thirty-seven partners, network members,
and students joined the conversation to engage in
visionary and creative dialogues. This set a
foundation for the creation of four design teams.
Teams of 3-5 participants were invited to focus on
one challenge area and advance the dialogue.
Starting this month, the teams are meeting once or
twice a month to develop a prototype for how the
ECN should move forward in the specific areas.
They are encouraged to invite other individuals
who can provide expertise in their challenge area.
The ECN is supporting the design teams with
guidance and resources they need to be
Why is the project
meaningful?
Resources
These videos are brief summaries of the
discussions of each challenge area held during
the partnership meeting in November.
Capacity Building
Culturally Responsive
Decolonization
successful, such as student
facilitators, technical and
financial support, and
physical space.
A showcase will be organized
in February where each
design team will present its
prototype. The ECN will then
take the four prototypes and
explore how to best
implement them over the
coming years of the
partnership.
This engagement process is an opportunity to
grow the network and learn from each other. It
will help the ECN move forward in the four
challenge areas while shaping its priorities over
the next years. This will advance knowledge and
practice in the four areas, and grow the
evaluation field in accessible and meaningful
ways.
Evaluation Context (Demystify)
Acknowledgment
The Evaluation Capacity Network is funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). We thank all
partners, members, and students who have joined this engagement process.
December 2022