The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
|
Volume IX, Number 3, Fall 2003 Issue Topic: Evaluating Community-Based InitiativesMany lessons have been learned during the past decade of community building; this issue of The Evaluation Exchange explores many of these lessons and their implications. Articles by experienced and insightful authors discuss a number of critical issues now surfacing in this field, including innovations in community-building evaluation, the role of cultural competency in community-based research and evaluation, and how evaluators and funders can better build on the evaluation and learning approaches that community-based organizations already use to improve their work. |
Quick Links
- About The Evaluation Exchange
- Table of Contents
- PDF Version (166kB)
- How to cite
From the Director's Desk
An introduction to the issue on Evaluating Community-Based Initiatives by HFRP's Founder & Director, Heather B. Weiss, Ed.D.
Theory & PracticeSustainability: Does Evaluation Have a Role?
Julia Coffman and Marielle Bohan-Baker of HFRP offer ideas for how evaluation can ensure that initiative stakeholders discuss sustainability before it is too late to be useful.
Promising PracticesUsing Geographic Data for Neighborhood Revitalization
Josh Kirschenbaum and Victor Rubin from PolicyLink discuss the uses of community mapping.
Promising PracticesAlternative Designs for Community-Based Research: Pittsburgh’s Early Childhood Initiative
Stephen Bagnato, Robert Grom, and Leon Haynes describe an evaluation design that provides scientific rigor in a community setting.
SpotlightHand in Hand—Evaluation and Organizational Development
Andrew Mott, Director of the Community Learning Project and former Executive Director of the Center for Community Change, on the importance of building on grassroots approaches to assessment and learning.
SpotlightFacing the Challenge of Evaluating a Complex, Multi-Site Initiative
Beth Weitzman and Diana Silver from New York University’s Center for Health and Public Service Research share their experience integrating a comparison group design into a theory of change approach.
SpotlightCommunity Youth as Evaluators
Christopher Wimer reflects on the role youth can play in evaluation.
Questions & AnswersA Conversation with Prudence Brown
Prudence Brown from the Program on Philanthropy and Community Change at the Chapin Hall Center for Children, University of Chicago, talks to HFRP about new approaches to community initiatives and the role of philanthropy in community change.
Beyond Basic TrainingStorytelling and Statistics: A Synergistic Combination
Deborah Johnson illustrates how storytelling can help uncover powerful impacts with two case studies from the Boys and Girls Club.
Evaluations to WatchMixed Methods and Moving to Opportunity
Elisabeth Jacobs discusses mixed-methods research in a policy context, highlighting the demonstration program Moving to Opportunity.
Evaluations to WatchCommunity Collaboration 90806: A Partnership to Increase School Readiness in Long Beach
Marielle Bohan-Baker describes the instructive and collaborative approach to planning and evaluation of six community partners in Long Beach, California.
Ask the ExpertXavier de Souza Briggs on Community Building
Xavier de Souza Briggs, founder of the Art and Science of Community Problem-Solving Project at Harvard University, discusses the limitations and possibilities of using evaluation to improve community building.
Ask the ExpertXavier de Souza Briggs on Community Building: Expanded Web Only Version
Xavier de Souza Briggs, founder of the Art and Science of Community Problem-Solving Project at Harvard University, discusses the limitations and possibilities of using evaluation to improve community building in an expanded web only version of the printed article.
New & Noteworthy
A list of new resources on the evaluation of community-building efforts, including reports, tools, and organizations of interest.
New & Noteworthy: Expanded Web Only Version
This web only version of the New & Noteworthy section features an expanded list of new resources on the evaluation of community-building efforts, including reports, tools, and organizations of interest.
This issue of The Evaluation Exchange was published by Harvard Family Research Project, edited by Marielle Bohan-Baker, Research Associate, and produced by Stacey Miller, Publications/Communications Manager and Tezeta Tulloch, Publications Assistant. All rights reserved. This periodical may not be reproduced whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. To request reprint permission, email hfrp_pubs@gse.harvard.edu.
Harvard Family Research Project gratefully acknowledges the support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of Harvard Family Research Project and do not necessarily reflect the view of our funders.
Free. 20 Pages.