Let’s LOL! Leveraging Our Learning – Strategies to Build Evaluation Capacity

Abstract Information: In 2017, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) launched the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) initiative, providing funding to 14 communities to implement a framework aimed at addressing the historical and contemporary impacts of racism and fostering sustainable change. Decision Information Resources Inc. (DIR) was appointed by WKKF to lead the national evaluation team (NET), tasked with two primary objectives: documenting TRHT implementation and tracking changes in equity and inclusion within communities/networks.

Recognizing TRHT's focus on social justice and racial equity, the NET was mindful of potential unintended consequences associated with traditional evaluation methods. Utilizing standardized measurements and non-participatory approaches could marginalize key stakeholders and influence the narratives surrounding TRHT implementation in each community. Therefore, the evaluation efforts of the NET were centered on understanding the unique implementation challenges and community needs, documenting the transformative potential of the TRHT framework, and capturing changes within local coalitions and networks.

In addition to the national evaluation, WKKF ensured that each grantee allocated resources for a local evaluation process. Grantees were provided with evaluation guidelines and technical support to foster ownership and adaptability within the evaluation process. Over the past seven years, the NET has gathered valuable insights through community engagement activities, including visioning sessions and listening sessions to document experiences with racism.

The key learning to date is that this community-based approach to TRHT implementation facilitated relationship building. The effectiveness with which relationships (and trust) were established in communities was contingent upon the Place Leads’ approach to implementation. Place Leads with a stronger connection to the community and an enhanced community-centered approach were able to gain and establish trust with leaders more effectively and at an earlier stage than other Place Leads.

The purpose of this roundtable is to create space for Leveraging Our Learnings. For the presentation, we will present a brief overview of the TRHT framework, key learnings, and the opportunities to leverage learnings specific to the evaluation. We will use Mentimeter, an interactive online tool, to solicit feedback from the audience on which topics they want to prioritize from the set of bullets below.

• Engaging with community-based organizations with & without evaluation experience
• Assessing the readiness of grantees vs. the fit of external evaluators
• Determining evaluation capacity and opportunities for skill development
• Managing grantee relationships
• Defining a scope of work for evolving program models

The session will include presentations by the NET and other evaluators who have been engaged over the course of the study, focused on the actionable learnings aligned with the bullets above, towards building evaluation capacity. The roundtable discussions will be designed to elevate similar learnings from evaluators, grantees, and funders in the room. Building evaluation capacity takes a multi-prong approach that is optimized when leveraging learnings from grantees, evaluators, and funders. When we LOL, we create space for effective and efficient collaboration.