Date: Thursday, July 31, 2025
Hello! We are David Hanson and Matthew Closter, both deeply connected in various ways to our Philadelphia area homes, the land of the Lenape. In our increasingly remote world, “place” is taking on new meaning, demanding deeper scrutiny.
We’ve all seen it in evaluation plans and grant proposals: “This is a place-based initiative.” It sounds good, implying a focus on specific, often challenged, communities. But honestly, how many of us, as evaluators, have actually stepped foot in these very communities?
The casual use of “place-based” is more than a linguistic shortcut; it’s a fundamental oversight that can undermine our work. When we claim “place-based” without engaging with the physical, social, and cultural realities of that place, we’re navigating with an incomplete map. As filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon remarks in King Coal, a documentary about West Virginia, “some think place matters less today in a world where people, things, thoughts, move from here to there, unburdened by geography. But here, we know that our bodies are always ever in one place.”
Echoing this sentiment, we advocate for a “sense of place” approach to evaluation. This emphasizes understanding a location’s cultural, historical, and emotional connections, making place a nexus of meaning and care. Embracing this perspective in community development empowers evaluators to truly discern a community’s unique needs, values, and assets. This deeper understanding fosters culturally responsive and equitable evaluation designs, building trust and meaningful relationships. Ultimately, this approach yields findings that are not only accurate but also relevant and genuinely useful to the community.
This approach was powerfully demonstrated in the 2023 Philadelphia Environmental Justice Community Dialogue Series that David had the privilege of facilitating. Focusing on Grays Ferry and Strawberry Mansion, the Philadelphia Office of Sustainability and Department of Public Health, alongside partners like the resident-led Philadelphia Environmental Justice Advisory Commission, actively centered residents’ personal stories and concerns about environmental injustices. This direct engagement, through listening and visioning sessions, allowed for a nuanced understanding of issues—from industrial pollution and its health impacts in Grays Ferry to gentrification and housing concerns in Strawberry Mansion. This deeply informed the community’s vision for an environmentally just future.
Matthew and his colleagues continued its evaluation of the City of Philadelphia Community Expansion Grants by fanning across the city to meet organizational leaders, participants, and caregivers participating in a variety of programs elevating mentoring, workforce development, and social emotional learning to prevent the proliferation of gun violence. Through the work, the role of place was essential to understand local neighborhood context of community resources and people available to support young people grow and thrive in their environments.
Of course, implementing a sense of place approach presents challenges. It requires time and resources often misaligned with typical evaluation project constraints, and developing profound community understanding quickly can be difficult. Crucially, evaluators must remain vigilant against their own biases and assumptions. A shift is needed in how such evaluations are funded and planned, advocating for extended site visits and immersive techniques. These methods allow evaluators to develop an authentic, on-the-ground understanding of the communities they serve.
Before you even draft evaluation questions for a “place-based” initiative, go there. Spend time in the community. Observe, listen, connect, and learn. This isn’t just about data collection; it’s about building a foundational understanding that will inform every aspect of your evaluation design.
In closing, a sense of place approach isn’t just an innovative concept; it’s a transformative paradigm shift in program evaluation. By uncovering hidden insights, fostering genuine community engagement, and facilitating more relevant and equitable findings, this approach paves the way for a more holistic and effective strategy for addressing challenges and nurturing community well-being, and the land we inhabit.
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