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Session Title: Connections and Hawaiian Culture: Evaluators as Boundary Spanners
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Panel Session 334 to be held in Manhattan on Thursday, Nov 3, 11:40 AM to 12:25 PM
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Sponsored by the Indigenous Peoples in Evaluation
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| Chair(s): |
| Martha Ann Carey, Kells Consulting, marthaanncarey@gmail.com
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| Abstract:
Evaluators often serve as a bridge between the client and the resource organization, spanning two cultures with different needs, perceptions, expectations, and occasionally somewhat different goals. Boundary spanning is a type of social network connection that can be effective in program development and documentation of a program's success. Factors important in being effective include appreciation of different cultural values and perspectives arising from gender, power distance, individual traits of dominance, and group cohesiveness. In two applied settings in Hawai'i, the researchers/evaluators learned to share the boundary spanner role with community members. The first presentation describes work with a nonprofit organization in planning and evaluation using a logic model, needs assessment, environmental scan, and plans for assessing outputs and outcomes. The second presentation involves boundary spanning across academic and community cultures for a study with Hawaiian elders in their understanding of wellness.
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Evaluation in Na Wai Iwi Ola: Tools and Lessons Learned
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| Kumu Keala Ching, Na Wai Iwi Ola Foundation, kumukeala@nawaiiwiola.com
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| Martha Ann Carey, Kells Consulting, marthaanncarey@gmail.com
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| Rolinda Bean, Na Wai Iwi Ola Foundation, rolindabean@outrigger.com
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Na Wai Iwi Ola is a growing, nonprofit organization on the island of Hawaii. The Director invited an evaluator to help the organization understand how to coordinate its activities and obtain funding. The organization had a 10 year history of working to preserve the Native Hawaiian culture through educational programs. It had many supporters and occasional funding, but it did not have an overall plan. The logic model process introduced at a Directors' meeting was enthusiastically received and led to better program goals, and clarification of the relationships between resources, activities, and outcomes. The first presenter is an internationally recognized expert in Hawaiian culture and was the cofounder of the organization. The second presenter has experience working with a wide variety of organizations in development and evaluation. The role of a boundary spanner will be highlighted in the activities of the Hawaiian expert and in the evaluator's role.
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Trust for Bridging Cultures
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| Anne Odell, Azusa Pacific University, apodell@apu.edu
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In planning to do research with Native Hawaiian elders, I needed to gain entry, establish trust, and listen well. The quality of the research data was improved by my being a boundary spanner between my culture as a mainland White person with some experience of the culture, and the Hawaiian elders. I also spanned the boundary between the researcher community in terms of what was needed for research and what the Hawaiian elders felt comfortable with. In addition to my experience of being a nurse practitioner, having lived in the local community of Kona, Hawaii, and having family still there, two community experts greatly assisted me in selecting a culturally relevant movie to start the focus group sessions, planning the logistics of meeting in a community center, and the incentives for participants. My research findings of "keeping balance" as the key to wellness resonated well with the elders.
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