Grounding and Centering Our Evaluations in Lived Experience: Strategies for Different Populations and Contexts

Abstract Information: Nationally, evaluators are engaged in seeking best practices to integrate partners with lived expertise in their evaluations. A continuum of approaches to involve interested parties have been used in the evaluation field for quite some time, ranging from the individuals and groups being consulted to assuming complete control of the evaluation (with the assistance of a trained evaluator) . These involvement approaches also generally include varying levels of evaluation capacity building, ranging from enhancing skills to nurturing an evaluative way of thinking. Most often, however, these approaches have included communities, practitioners, policy makers, and others that have a vested interest in the program. Evaluations have less frequently engaged individuals who are served by the program or from the same population, what is now more commonly referred to as individual with lived expertise or lived experience.

This panel will highlight strategies for amplifying the voice of individuals with lived expertise in the design and implementation of evaluations as well as in the analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of the results. The strategies are being implemented with a range of populations and evaluation contexts. The strategies include a Living with Experience Evaluation Team of individuals who have experienced homelessness as part of a larger team evaluating the contribution of a foundation funded initiative in addressing homelessness in Los Angeles, youth participation as part of an evaluation team studying selected interventions for youth transitioning from foster care, an ongoing panel of caregivers providing guidance for an implementation study of a new national demonstration program and input into a future impact study, community listening sessions, and a technical assistance guide for evaluators.

Each presenter will describe the evaluation context and the impetus for including individuals with lived expertise in the evaluation, how the individuals were selected, the role that they are playing in the evaluation and how their input has been used, evaluation capacity building that is taking place, challenges experienced and strategies for resolution, and factors that influenced the strategy that was developed as well the challenges and opportunities experienced (e.g., the nature of the funder; the amount of resources provided; the type of population involved; the nature of the program being evaluated). Each presenter will also highlight what has been learned thus far in engaging individuals with lived expertise in various stages of the evaluation, and what changes have already been made over the course of the evaluation to maximize the individuals’ engagement. The presenters also will discuss limitations of the strategy and ways it could be enhanced.