46: Reflections on Foundations of Evaluation

Bradlie Nabours (LinkedIn) returns to the podcast to share his experiences in evaluation since we last spoke four years ago in episode 36 "Evaluation Job Market with Bradlie Nabours." We talk about his career journey, the importance of networking, and how our perspectives and experiences have shifted in the past four years. We end with a shoutout to another great podcast that has come out since we last spoke, The Evaluation Couch by Maria Montenegro, which has had many episodes focused on evaluation careers.

I chat with Jannik Kaiser about regenerative evaluation, an approach that asks how evaluation itself can contribute to flourishing. We discussed Jannik's background in evaluation and what led him to regenerative evaluation, how and why the approach was developed, what regenerative evaluation is and an example of regenerative evaluation in practice, and more. "Too often, evaluation is experienced as a "tax" on doing good: an extractive exercise where we mine data from communities to feed upward reporting structures. It reinforces a power dynamic where the funder holds the yardstick and the community bears the burden of proof. We count the fruits while depleting the soil. But I believe - and have witnessed first hand - that evaluation can be a source of vitality and justice, not just accountability." - Regenerative Evaluation Living Paper: Influences, Pathways, & Practices Resources Introduction to the Regenerative Evaluation Living Paper Regenerative Evaluation Living Paper: Influences, Pathways, & Practices Impact Garden M&E in Complexity: Presenting a methodology for making credible claims Capacity Compass Regenerative Evaluation Community of Practice About Jannik Kaiser Jannik Kaiser is the Co-founder and CEO of Unity Effect, where he leads the area of Regenerative Measurement and Evaluation. As the main editor of the Regenerative Evaluation Living Paper, Jannik has dedicated his career to bridging complexity science with participatory practice. He advocates for transforming evaluation from a compliance-driven reporting requirement into a regenerative intervention in itself: one that gives more energy than it takes and actively shifts institutional power. His work encompasses a broad spectrum of contributions, ranging from advising global organizations such as the ILO and UN agencies, to developing open-source frameworks such as the Impact Garden, Capacity Compass, and Methodology for Credible Claims in Complexity, to empower purpose-driven organizations worldwide. Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jannik-kaiser/

I chat with Robin Lin Miller about the book she wrote with George Ayala, "Breaking Barriers: Sexual and Gender Minority-Led Advocacy to End AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean." We discuss MPact, Project ACT, and the evaluation of the initiatives. About Robin Lin Miller Robin Lin Miller, PhD is Professor of Psychology, director of doctoral training in ecological-community psychology, and associate director of training in program evaluation at Michigan State University. She served as lead evaluation specialist for Gay Men’s Health Crisis in the early years of the HIV epidemic and established its first Department of Evaluation. She specializes in evaluating community-led programs, including human rights and advocacy initiatives. Her evaluations – principally conducted in the United States, Africa, and Caribbean – focus on adolescent and Black gay and bisexual men, bisexual girls, transgender women, and male sex workers. She served as lead scientist on the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on Therapeutic Approaches to Sexual Orientation Distress, which is routinely cited in legislation banning conversion therapy practices. Awards include the 2023 Alva and Gunnar Myrdal Evaluation Practice Award from the American Evaluation Association for substantive cumulative contributions to the development of LGBTQ evaluation practice, and the 2022 Exemplary Project W. K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award for evaluating human rights advocacy for LGBTQ people in Africa and the Caribbean. She a member of the Academy for Community Engagement Scholarship, and a fellow of the American Psychological Association and Society for Community Research and Action. She is author of more than 100 scholarly publications, including Breaking Barriers: Sexual and Gender Minority-led Advocacy to End AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean, published by Oxford University Press, co-authored by activist-scholar George Ayala. Past funders include AmFAR, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Drug Abuse, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development, and the U.S. Department of State. Contact information: [email protected]

In this episode, I chat with the authors of The Garden of Evaluation Approaches about their innovative and helpful framework for thinking about evaluation theory and approaches. They each share their personal journeys into evaluation as well as into this work they have been collaborating on for years. We also discuss evaluation theory more broadly, including how to make it more accessible to new and emerging evaluators. About guests: Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead is a Professor of Research Methods, Measurement, and Evaluation at the University of Connecticut, where she also directs the Partnership for Evaluation and Educational Research (PEER). As Co-Editor-in-Chief of New Directions for Evaluation and a fervent advocate for evaluation, Bianca has dedicated her career to bridging the space between evaluation theory and practice. Her work encompasses a broad spectrum of contributions, from evaluating various educational and social programs using diverse methodologies to enhancing the professional training of evaluators worldwide. Daniela Schroeter serves as a Presidential Innovation Professor and Associate Professor at Western Michigan University. With a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Evaluation and over twenty years of research, Daniela has contributed substantially to developing evaluation theories and methodologies. Her global work has involved diverse sectors, focusing on enhancing the capacity and effectiveness of evaluations. Daniela also co-edits the Teaching & Learning of Evaluation section of the American Journal of Evaluation. Lyssa Wilson Becho serves as a Principal Research Associate at The Evaluation Center of Western Michigan University. Garnering the 2024 Marcia Guttentag Promising New Evaluator Award, Lyssa has made a significant impact in advancing evaluation methodologies, focusing on culturally responsive practices and promoting equity within evaluation processes. Lyssa is a co-Executive Editor for the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation. Collectively, their innovative work in evaluation spans continents, cementing their reputation as leaders in advancing the practical, theoretical, and methodological facets of the discipline. Contact information: Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/BMMoorhead/ ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bianca-Montrosse-Moorhead Daniela Schröter Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielaschroeter/ ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniela-Schroeter Lyssa Wilson Becho Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyssa-wilson-becho/ ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lyssa-Becho Resources mentioned: Project vita (biography or résumé) with links to all free and publicly available resources: https://tinyurl.com/EvalGardenVita Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Schröter, D., & Becho, L. W. (2024). The garden of evaluation approaches visualization. Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation, 20(48), 49–58. https://journals.sfu.ca/jmde/index.php/jmde_1/article/view/1029 Montrosse-Moorhead, B., Schröter, D., & Becho, L. W. (2024). The garden of evaluation approaches. American Journal of Evaluation, 45(2), 166–185. https://doi.org/10.1177/10982140231216667 Bledsoe, K. L., & Graham, J. A. (2005). The use of multiple evaluation approaches in program evaluation. American Journal of Evaluation, 26(3), 302-319. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214005278749 King, J. (2024) Garden of evaluation approaches with SROI and CBA https://linkedin.com/posts/julian-king-87a015a_cba-sroi-vfi-activity-7201338499776618497-J3-z/ Miller, R. L. (2010). Developing standards for empirical examinations of evaluation theory. American Journal of Evaluation, 31(3), 390–399. https://doi.org/10/fmzjxp

In this week’s episode, I talk with Dr. Jennifer Villalobos about evaluator education, the scholar-practitioner model, evaluation careers, and how the current administration is affecting evaluation. Contact information: Jennifer P. Villalobos - [email protected] About Dr. Jennifer Villalobos: Jennifer P. Villalobos, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Practice and Director of the Doctor of Evaluation Practice (D.Eval) program at Claremont Graduate University. As an evaluator, scholar-practitioner, and organizational psychologist, her work focuses on advancing socially responsive evaluation, helping organizations increase their DEI profile, positive psychological interventions, and the intersection of evaluation education and practice. Outside of work, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her husband and three kids, cheering them on in their many sports and theatrical events. She’s also a firm believer in the power of community—whether that means mentoring students, collaborating with peers, or just gathering people around good food and conversation. Music by Matt Ingelson, http://www.mattingelsonmusic.com/

I share my reflections on teaching Foundations of Evaluation after a major course revision, including how it's been going for the first four weeks. Music by Matt Ingelson, http://www.mattingelsonmusic.com/

This episode featured Kim Leonard and Sheila Robinson discussing their careers in evaluation and survey design. They shared how they met on Twitter in 2012 and began collaborating, writing blog posts that eventually became their book "Designing Quality Survey Questions" published by Sage Publications. Sheila and Kim discussed their process for writing the book, starting with blog content and building it out over several years into a full manuscript. They also covered common issues they see in surveys and tips for developing effective survey questions. Sheila Robinson: https://www.sheilabrobinson.com/ & https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilabrobinson/ Kim Leonard: https://leonardrande.com/ & https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-firth-leonard-1ba9447/ Music by Matt Ingelson, http://www.mattingelsonmusic.com/

This month I chat with Brittany Dernberger about her evaluation background and practice. Brittany Dernberger is a sociologist and gender inequality expert who has led research, evaluation, and organizational learning across academia, philanthropy, government, large international NGOs, and small nonprofits. Brittany currently leads global initiatives to measure systems-level change at CARE and co-chairs the American Evaluation Association Systems in Evaluation Topical Interest Group. Learn more about Brittany’s work at http://brittanydernberger.com/. Access CARE’s completed Systems-Level Impact evaluations at https://careevaluations.org/evaluation/keywords/systems-level-impact/. The AEA Systems in Evaluation TIG paper on Principles for Systems Thinking in is available at https://www.betterevaluation.org/sites/default/files/SETIG-Principles-FINAL-DRAFT-2018-9-9.pdf. Music by Matt Ingelson, http://www.mattingelsonmusic.com/

This month I talk with Allison Prieur about her experiences as a graduate student in evaluation and running a business. Some resources mentioned or suggested for listeners: Logic of evaluation Evaluation of logic in practice Destination Dissertation Allison Prieur's LinkedIn profile Music by Matt Ingelson, http://www.mattingelsonmusic.com/

In this episode, I chat with Corey Newhouse and Jessica Manta Meyer, both from Public Profit, about how to make evaluation capacity building sticky for the organizations we work with. Some resources mentioned: TIERS Framework Tipping Point Community Irvine Foundation Change Cadet NonProfit AF article on capacity building does not work Info on the Public Profit’s evaluation cohort Contact information: [email protected] About Corey: Corey got her start as a teacher at Summerbridge Cincinnati in the early 1990s and has been involved in educational equity and social justice movements ever since. She founded Public Profit to build a team that would seamlessly blend social science research methods, organizational change strategy, and a deep commitment to supporting changemakers. As the Founder and Principal of Public Profit, Corey leads the team’s strategic direction, external relationships, and business development. In addition, Corey serves as an internal thought partner to project teams, assisting with the design of Public Profit’s engagements in evaluation, capacity building, and strategic program design. She is co-author of Public Profit’s Creative Ways to Solicit Stakeholder Feedback and Dabbling in the Data, and a contributor to Evaluation Failures: 22 Tales of Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned. She is a co-editor of the volume, Measure, Use, Improve! Data Use in Out-of-School Time. About Jes: Jessica began her career as a peer volunteer on a national youth talkline providing referrals and support to youth in crisis. Challenged by what she heard on the talkline, and by some of her own experiences with the health care system, she developed an interest in health education, equity and advocacy, which launched a career in the social services sector. Eventually, Jessica combined that with a lifetime love of numbers and inquiry, which led her to program evaluation. Prior to joining Public Profit, Jessica had several years of experience creating, directing and evaluating a range of youth development, LGBT, and health programs. Her work has run the gamut of nonprofit and social service roles including nonprofit finance, human resources, development and agency-led evaluations. Jessica directs many of the projects at Public Profit. She designs evaluation studies, develops project strategy, and manages implementation including all aspects of data collection, analysis, and reporting. An expert facilitator, Jessica also facilitates large stakeholder meetings and evaluation capacity building trainings, and provides evaluation coaching to clients and staff alike.