Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Hello, fellow evaluators! We’re Reilly Fitzpatrick, Stephen Fawcett, and Christina Holt from the Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas. Our team supports communities through training, research, and participatory evaluation. We are also the creators of the Community Tool Box, the world’s largest free online resource for those working to build healthier communities and bring about social change.
The focus of today’s AEA 365 Blog Post is on participatory evaluation.
Participatory evaluation is the intentional involvement of all stakeholders throughout the evaluation process. This approach invites stakeholders, including those most affected, to help define what success looks like, collect and analyze data, and use the information to adjust. Too often, communities are treated as beneficiaries of programs rather than co-creators. Participatory evaluation flips that dynamic, positioning community members as meaningful partners in the work. At the core of participatory evaluation is stakeholder engagement. Supporting engagement requires practical tools and strategies. We’re excited to share Hot TipsandRad Resources from the Community Tool Box, which provides millions with accessible and actionable tools for lasting impact.
Evaluation starts with the project, not after implementation. Involve stakeholders in defining the issue, developing a theory of change, shaping evaluation questions, and aligning project plans with community goals. Engagement throughout creates the conditions for project success.
Participatory evaluation an ongoing process that allows the project to be responsive to changing needs and conditions. Sustaining stakeholder engagement requires intention. To maintain participation over time, consider utilizing the 6 R’s: Recognizing people for their efforts, modeling mutual Respect and care, clearly defining Roles, investing in Relationships, making engagement Rewarding, and communicating and celebrating Results.
Participatory evaluation depends on relationships rooted in mutual trust respect. You may not begin with trust, but you can build it. Showing up with cultural humility, transparency about decisions and timelines, and a mindset of service and curiosity will help set the foundation for meaningful engagement.
Participatory evaluation calls for building community capacity to engage in evaluation efforts.
If you know of great tools, resources, or examples, we’d love to feature them on the Community Tool Box. Please email us at toolbox@ku.edu.
We’re looking forward to the fall and the Evaluation 2025 conference with our colleagues in the Local Arrangements Working Group (LAWG). Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this AEA365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the AEA365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to contribute to AEA365? Review the contribution guidelines and send your draft post to AEA365@eval.org. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.