Abstract Information: As evaluators, we are often situated between the academic and community spaces as we work to understand how programs operate and how to improve them. To sustain healthy and successful careers, personal and professional networks are important for not only creating partnerships to apply for evaluation grants, but also for informing how we create our evaluation methodology. This proposed round table will focus on discussing ways to (1) create professional networks and (2) learn how to design community-focused evaluations that tell the full story of the programs we evaluate through participation in community spaces, such as local committees, initiatives, or volunteer groups. The presentation portion will focus on strategies for showing up authentically in these spaces, building trust within these groups, and utilizing our research skills to assist in community efforts. Further, ways to engage these groups as potential partners for evaluation that accounts for the complexity of the challenges that community-focused programs face will be reviewed. We will also discuss the importance of the co-creation process of evaluation planning with community partners and how to elevate the voices of those that were not present in the evaluation space until recent years. The strategies provided will be discussed in the example spaces that each of the round table discussants consider themselves to be a part of, which are work with children with incarcerated parents and civil right to counsel for those seeking housing assistance. The discussion portion of the round table will focus on (1) learning from one another about additional strategies to promote network creation as an evaluator, and (2) having the round table participants ask questions about creating their own networks in community areas of interest through an evaluation lens.
