| Session Title: Community-based Evaluation Within a Canadian Cross-Cultural Context |
| Multipaper Session 364 to be held in Wekiwa 5 on Thursday, Nov 12, 3:35 PM to 4:20 PM |
| Sponsored by the Collaborative, Participatory & Empowerment Evaluation TIG |
| Chair(s): |
| Cheryl Poth, University of Alberta, cpoth@ualberta.ca |
| Abstract: Using the Preschool Developmental Screening (PDS) Project as an evaluation case study, we forward a framework for conducting community-based evaluations (CBE) within a Canadian cross-cultural context. The PDS project represents collaboration among partners in the health, children's services, education, and non-profit sectors aimed at building parent and community capacity to support early childhood development. The project is complicated by a shift in local demographics in a large urban centre where over 20% of the population is represented by immigrant and refugee families. With limited available resources for this population, it is imperative to evaluate the impact on families when collaborative programming efforts are employed through health and education systems within a dynamic context. Our findings indicate that CBE is mutually beneficial for all partners and informs the development of cross-cultural insights to enhance current health and educational services and programs for all families. |
| Identifying Key Characteristics of a Community-Based Evaluation Framework |
| Rebecca Georgis, University of Alberta, georgis@ualberta.ca |
| Cheryl Poth, University of Alberta, cpoth@ualberta.ca |
| Community-based evaluation (CBE) is a collaborative evaluation framework that focuses on both the process and outcome with specific emphasis on the intended use of evaluation in community-based projects. Stemming from the principles of community-based research (e.g., Israel, Schulz, Parker, & Becker, 1998), CBE is guided by an emphasis on the active and equitable involvement of partners and community members in the evaluation as well as capacity building. Among the key characteristics that will be discussed is the focus on maintaining open access to the emerging evaluation findings. The knowledge generated from participation in the evaluation is shared among partners and community and informs their continued development. Further, by engaging all partners in an iterative process of reflection this leads to a refinement of project goals. This paper extends the literature by identifying key characteristics of a CBE framework and reports its development using a case study. |
| Challenges and Opportunities in a Cross-Cultural Evaluation Context |
| Winnie Chow, University of Alberta, wwchow@ualberta.ca |
| Rebecca Gokiert, University of Alberta, rgokiert@ualberta.ca |
| Using the PDS project as a community-based evaluation case study, this paper explores the challenges and opportunities that emerge within an immigrant and refugee evaluation context. Given the diverse pre-migration and settlement obstacles many immigrant and refugee families face, participation in a program evaluation may be perceived as secondary to securing basic needs for a family. Participation is further constrained by language and the process of engagement used in evaluation that tends to exclude immigrant and refugee involvement. Yet there is growing acknowledgement in the broader community to understand the immigrant and refugee families' perspective in order to develop relevant and meaningful programs to support positive outcomes for all children and families. This paper maps onto the CBE framework and discusses the strategies used to address a variety of challenges (e.g., recruitment, data collection) and opportunities (e.g., engagement with new communities, consent procedures) that emerged within a cross-cultural evaluation context. |