Evaluating Community Engagement in Funder-Driven Initiatives

Abstract Information: In recent years, approaches such as “community engagement,” “stakeholder engagement,” and engagement of individuals “most impacted” or with “lived experience” have become common within public, nonprofit, and philanthropic circles. This renewed interest has been driven by recognition of the importance of diverse viewpoints in place-based and related initiatives. It has also been driven by a growing societal focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion which recognizes engagement's potential to mitigate disparities in access and power. Engagement, however, can take different forms and has different meanings depending upon the context and populations involved. This presents challenges for conceptualizing engagement efforts within and across different settings and over time. This paper provides an approach to help evaluators grapple with the complexity of community engagement efforts, with examples of its application to evaluations conducted in different contexts.