| Session Title: Empowerment Evaluation Communities of Learners: From Rural Spain to the Arkansas Delta |
| Multipaper Session 812 to be held in Carroll Room on Saturday, November 10, 1:50 PM to 3:20 PM |
| Sponsored by the Collaborative, Participatory & Empowerment Evaluation TIG |
| Chair(s): |
| David Fetterman, Stanford University, profdavidf@yahoo.com |
| Discussant(s): |
| Stewart I Donaldson, Claremont Graduate University, stewart.donaldson@cgu.edu |
| Abstract: Empowerment evaluation is the use of evaluation concepts, techniques, and findings to foster improvement and self-determination. It employs both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. It also knows no national boundaries. It is being applied countries ranging from Brazil to Japan, as well as Mexico, United Kingdom, Finland, New Zealand, Spain, and the United States. These panel members highlight how empowerment evaluation is being used in rural Spain and the Arkansas Delta. In both cases, they depend on communities of learners to facilitate the process. The third member of the panel highlights a web-based tool to support empowerment evaluation that allow crosses all geographic boundaries. |
| Learning From Empowerment Evaluation in Rural Spain: Implications for the European Union |
| Jose Maria Diaz Puente, Polytechnic University, Madrid, jmdiazpuente@gmail.com |
| At the present time, thousands of evaluation works are carried out each year in the European Union to analyze the efficacy of European policies and seek the best way to improve the programs being implemented. Many of these works are related to programs applied in the rural areas that occupy up to 80% of the territory of the EU and include many of the most disadvantaged regions. The results of the application of empowerment evaluation in the rural areas of Spain show that this evaluation approach is an appropriate way to foster learning in the rural context. The learning experience was related to capacity building in stakeholders and evaluation team, the evaluator role and advocacy, the impact of the empowerment evaluation approach, its potential limitations, difficulties and applicability to rural development in the EU. |
| Empowerment Evaluation: Transforming Data Into Dollars and the Politics of Community Support in Arkansas Tobacco Prevention Projects |
| Linda Delaney, Fetterman and Assoc, linda2inspire@earthlink.net |
| David Fetterman, Stanford University, profdavidf@yahoo.com |
| Empowerment evaluation is being used to facilitate tobacco prevention work in the State of Arkansas. The University of Arkansas's Depart of Education is guiding this effort, under the Minority Initiated Sub-Recipient Grant's Office. Teams of community agencies are working together with individual evaluators throughout the state to collect tobacco prevention data and turn it into meaningful results in their communities. They are also using the data collectively to demonstrate how a collective can be effective. The grantees and evaluators are collecting data about the number of people who quit smoking and translating that into dollars saved in terms of excess medical expenses. This has caught the attention of the Black Caucus and the legislature. Lessons learned about transforming data and the politics of community support are shared. |
| Empowerment Evaluation and the Web: (interactive Getting to Outcomes) iGTO |
| Abraham Wandersman, University of South Carolina, wandersman@sc.edu |
| iGTO is an Internet based approach to Getting to Outcomes called Interactive Getting to Outcomes. It is a capacity-building system, funded by NIAAA, that is designed to help practitioners reach results using science and best practices. Getting to Outcomes (GTO) is a ten-step approach to results-based accountability. The ten steps are as follows; Needs/Resources, Goals, Best Practices, Fit, Capacity, Planning, Implementation, Outcomes, CQI, and Sustainability. iGTO plays the role of quality improvement/quality assurance in a system that has tools, training, technical assistance, and quality improvement/quality assurance. With iGTO, the organizations uses empowerment evaluation approaches to assess process and outcomes and promote continuous quality improvement. Wandersman et al highlight the use of iGTO in two large state grants to demonstrate the utility of this new tool. |