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Session Title: Interviews With Exemplary Evaluators: Evaluation in Action
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Panel Session 263 to be held in Centennial Section F on Thursday, Nov 6, 10:55 AM to 12:25 PM
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Sponsored by the Research on Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Melvin Mark,
Pennsylvania State University,
m5m@psu.edu
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| Discussant(s):
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| Ross Conner,
University of California Irvine,
rfconner@uci.edu
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| Abstract:
Through interviews concerning an evaluation, the panel will add to our knowledge about practice by illustrating the choices that exemplary evaluators make in a particular evaluation. Building on the Exemplars interview columns in American Journal of Evaluation, the two interviewers from the Exemplars column will each introduce an evaluation and then interview the evaluator on key components of that particular evaluation. Each interviewer will select two areas of the interview that provide insights into how evaluators make choices in a particular setting. Areas to be probed include establishing cultural competency, evaluator's roles in working with stakeholders, and methodological choices. Following the interview/dialogue, the evaluators interviewed will expand on their role in the evaluation. Finally, the interviewers will comment on what can be learned about practice through these case studies.
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A Dialogue with Katrina Bledsoe: Establishing Cultural Competency and Use in a Community-Based Evaluation
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| Jody Fitzpatrick,
University of Colorado Denver,
jody.fitzpatrick@cudenver.edu
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| Katrina Bledsoe,
Walter R McDonald and Associates Inc,
kbledsoe@wrma.com
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Fitzpatrick will begin by summarizing Katrina Bledsoe's evaluation of the Fun with Books (FWB) program in Trenton, New Jersey. Fitzpatrick's interview with Bledsoe will then focus on how Bledsoe recognized that she needed to obtain cultural competence and how she attempted to do so. Fitzpatrick will also focus on Bledsoe's actions to facilitate use. Bledsoe is hired to evaluate what program administrators view as their 'flagship' program, their most successful. They want the evaluation to demonstrate their success. Yet, Bledsoe identifies a number of problems. Ultimately, the administrators accept the evaluation and make many of the program changes that she recommends. Thus, the second part of Fitzpatrick's questions to Bledsoe on the panel will concern how she defined her role to get administrators to accept disappointing results and move toward improvement. The case is a successful example of use in what might have been a contentious situation.
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A Dialogue with Ross Conner: An Evaluator's Role and Approach to a Complex Evaluation
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| Christina Christie,
Claremont Graduate University,
tina.christie@cgu.edu
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| Ross Conner,
University of California Irvine,
rfconner@uci.edu
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Christie will summarize Conner's evaluation of the Colorado Healthy Communities Initiative. When Conner began his work, the Initiative was by design undefined. Conner provided an overarching initiative level evaluation of the overall program process. Christie's interview with Conner will focus on several elements of Conner's work including his role in the evaluation, involvement of stakeholders, and how he facilitated use. Christie will focus on how Conner's evaluation approach (collaborative, community-based) allowed him to be responsive to the complexities of the evaluation and provided him with the flexibility necessary for examining program processes at both the community and initiative levels. Conner's evaluation was recognized for its overall impact, and so Christie will question Conner about how his approach helped to facilitate both process and findings use. Related to this, Christie will ask Conner to expound upon his self-described role as a 'story teller' and how this influenced his overall evaluation approach.
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