Thinking Outside of Your Box: Empathy Mapping as a Tool for Program Design and Evaluation

Abstract Information: Professionals across a variety of sectors may find themselves developing and/or implementing programming to groups and communities to which they do not personally belong. When in these situations, professionals may default to designing and implementing programs similar to those provided in the past or rely on existing literature about next practices and promising approaches. And while ideal, it is often financially or temporally impractical (or impossible) to engage priority communities in the program design process. This can result in the creation of programs that do not adequately meet the needs of the groups and communities that they are intended to serve. As evaluators, we often have the opportunity to be thought partners in a program’s design and measures of success. As we engage in thought partnership with our partners, we have an opportunity to challenge our partners to think in new ways and engage with perspectives other than their own. During this skill-building session, we will introduce attendees to the process of empathy mapping and how it can be used for program design, program evaluation, and organizational growth. Session participants will be led through a skill-building activity that both models the process of empathy mapping and demonstrates how this tool can be used to surface assumptions made about priority communities and the ways those assumptions influence program design. Evaluators can then test for the accuracy of these assumptions throughout program implementation and delivery, thus leading to improved knowledge of priority communities and better program design and implementation.