Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026
Hello! I’m Esther Wambui, Data Management Lead at Play for Change, and I collaborated on this post with my teammates Melissa Aponte Cárdenas and Kamaladevi Wilson. Together, we reflect on what it means to reclaim data and evaluation practice for youth and People of Color.
Evaluators working with historically marginalized populations face a persistent challenge: how do we capture authentic narratives while maintaining data quality, rigor, and ethical responsibility? For youth and People of Color, traditional evaluation approaches have often been extractive, externally driven, and disconnected from lived realities shaped by systemic inequities. Too often, data is collected about communities rather than with them, reinforcing power imbalances and limiting the usefulness of evidence for meaningful change.
Reclaiming data and evaluation means recognizing that youth and communities of color are not simply data sources, but knowledge holders and co-creators of meaning. Participatory and culturally responsive approaches invite community members into the full evaluation cycle, from shaping learning questions to interpreting findings and determining how insights are used. When communities help define what success looks like, data becomes more relevant, trustworthy, and actionable.
Our work with Latino communities and other historically marginalized groups, including children and youth, illustrates how culturally grounded methods strengthen both engagement and data quality. Using language that resonates locally, honoring cultural norms, adapting tools to community context, and creating safe spaces for storytelling enables participants to share openly and authentically. These practices surface insights that standardized tools alone often miss, revealing the complexity, resilience, and wisdom embedded in lived experience.
Importantly, centering community voices does not require sacrificing rigor. Strong evaluation design, transparent documentation, reflexive practice, and clear data governance can coexist with participatory methods. Mission-driven organizations can generate high-quality evidence while honoring dignity, agency, and community ownership of data.
Ultimately, reclaiming data and evaluation for youth and People of Color is about shifting power and redefining whose knowledge counts. When communities shape the questions, interpret the findings, and influence decisions, evaluation becomes a tool for learning, accountability, and social transformation, not merely measurement.
Our hot tips for reclaiming evaluation practice:
Reclaiming data is ultimately about reclaiming voice, dignity, and agency. When curiosity is intentionally directed toward equity, evaluation becomes not just a measurement tool, but a pathway for transformation.
Play for Change culturally rooted evaluation checklist Play for Change_Freebie_Culture Checklist
Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) Hub Home | YPAR Hub Learn more about our work at our presentation, “Reclaiming Data and Evaluation for Youth and People of Color” at the TEN Virtual Institute.
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