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Ignite
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Ignite

Indigenous Peoples in Evaluation

Session: Ignite Session 2

Elevating Partner Voices Through Indigenous Ways of Thinking

Stream: International Evaluation, Diversity, and Specific Populations

Thursday, October 24, 2024
3:15 PM - 3:20 PM PST
Location: E147-148
Ignite
Abstract Information: Evaluators are in a unique position when working with project partners and community members in that they have the opportunity to ensure their voices are amplified and empowered throughout the evaluation process. In the evaluation for the Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity (CIIHE) project, the evaluators recognized the opportunity to center the voices of the CIIHE partners and the Indigenous communities they serve. Through a shared decision-making process with the partners, the evaluators conducted key informant interviews with each of the four partners as a component of the overarching evaluation. The interviews gave each partner a space to share their experiences in working with the CIIHE and how they chose to amplify and empower the voices of their own community members affected by their interventions. Additionally, findings from the key informant interviews provided valuable insight to CIIHE and facilitated continuous quality improvement of the project. In the ignite presentation, the presenter will describe how conducting these interviews centered the partner’s voices and experiences, why that was important to the evaluators and project team, and what was learned about the approaches taken by the partners to encourage Indigenous ways of thinking in their own interventions. The presenter will also reflect on lessons learned in balancing Indigenous ways of thinking with western methodologies of research and working with an all-Indigenous team.