What word comes to mind when you think of evaluation?
Published almost 2 years ago • 1 min read
Issue #27
Weekly evaluation inspiration for...
Non-profits who DARE
Hi, I'm Allison. I help small to mid-sized non-profits change the world using data and organizational learning. I'm kind of like the kid who likes orange flavoured candy and trades everyone for the good flavours.
I've been accused of being a little too Pollyanna from time to time. I get it, I use strengths-focused approaches to do evaluation. And I really believe that if people just give my kind of evaluation a chance, they'll learn to love it as much as I do.
But I can admit that that's not always the case. In fact, I usually start evaluation workshops by people telling me one word that comes to mind when they think of evaluation. After a few placating comments, someone inevitably breaks the ice with a word like "accountability", "check and balance", or even, "fear".
In case you hadn't already guessed, those are the words I'm looking for. It gives me the chance to address them. Often, people are afraid of evaluation for good reason. Whether previous evaluation approaches have done harm to them or their participants, or been a waste of time, or just generally not been a positive experience, validating those feelings goes a long way to building relationships based on trust.
Why do I make them tell me their negative preconceptions, even though I could have just called it out when I walked into the room? I'm so glad you asked.
I know that people often have negative feelings about evaluation. But usually, they also have positive feelings. If I walk in and say some variation of "I'm sure you don't want to be here", I'm shutting down opportunities for dialogue and relationship building.
How we present topics can matter as much, if not more, than what we present. Next time you're introducing a tricky topic, try starting with a question to let people know that it's okay to feel uneasy about it. Then figure out how to make everyone more comfortable, together.
It's grant writing season here in Canada (is it ever not?) I've put together a package to try to help pass along what I know about grant writing to others, while building your team's capacity. Click below to learn more.
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