1037 - Introduction to Culturally Responsive and Equitable Systems Change Evaluation

Abstract Information: Culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE) and systems-thinking and complexity-science (STCS) informed evaluation are relatively new evaluation approaches that have received increased attention within the evaluation field. Linking these approaches into a coherent whole can increase the rigor, validity, reliability, and value of evaluation practice. Each approach provides unique but complementary ways of understanding how people, programs, and initiatives are influenced by cultural factors and power relations within complex institutional, community, and political systems. In so doing, they provide a platform to more accurately capture the “story” of complex initiatives and opportunities to increase their effectiveness and impact. This workshop will provide a introduction to these two approaches and their integration to advance the practice of evaluation with an equity-focused and systems-informed lens.

Relevance Statement: Culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE) and systems-thinking and complexity-science (STCS) informed evaluation are relatively new evaluation approaches that have received increased attention within the evaluation field. They require a paradigm shift from traditional evaluation practices that often limit evaluators’ capacity to understand the forces that shape the implementation and outcomes of efforts to improve organizations and communities or advance social, economic, or health equity. Historically, these approaches have represented distinct schools of thought within evaluation practice and have been explored by program evaluators independent of each other with a few notable exceptions. For example, Casillas and Trochim (2015) examined culturally responsive evaluation principles and systems heuristics to note areas of commonality, such as capturing context, valuing multiple perspectives, and recognizing the importance of multiple, overlapping relationships. Similarly, Thomas and Parsons (2017) examined the intersection of culturally responsive evaluation and systems oriented evaluation to identity points of intersection such as consideration of relationships; influence of evaluators’ attitudes and beliefs on the evaluation process; factors outside the boundaries of the evaluand that influence it; multiple, diverse, and historically excluded perspectives, intended and unintended outcomes, and situating the evaluand within its sociocultural, historical, political, and organizational context to better understand the link between activities and outcomes. The workshop will provide participants with an introduction to CREE and STCS and opportunities to seamlessly integrate them to bring their strengths to bear to evaluate efforts to solve complex problems. Each approach provides unique but complementary ways to understand how people, programs, and initiatives are influenced by cultural factors and power relations within complex institutional, community, and political systems. In so doing, they provide a platform to more accurately capture the “story” of complex initiatives and opportunities to increase their effectiveness and impact. We believe that explicitly linking these approaches into a coherent whole will help participants increase the rigor, validity, reliability, and value of their evaluation practice.