Participative learning for evaluation: a systems approach to the development of evaluation capability for community projects

This paper describes a participative project which sought to build capacity for evaluation across the community, voluntary and statutory health sectors in three authorities within Greater Manchester, UK. A systems methodology was adopted, which emphasised the inclusion of marginalised groups, multiple stakeholder involvement and participative methods. Five action research stages were identified. A needs analysis in which 55 community based projects participated was followed by nine multi-agency learning events, each of which explored, in participatory ways, issues identified by the projects. Three further multi-agency workshops explored new ways of working together in order to practice evaluation for the benefits of the local community. A follow up survey examined how the project had led to longer term outcomes for projects, and currently a number of feasible ideas for mutual support for evaluation practice are being explored. Overall some 150 groups from across three authorities, all with an interest in improving community health (broadly defined) participated in the project. This paper reports the processes and outcomes of the needs audit and the first, foundation learning event, both of which shaped the rest of the project. These stages contributed to joint understanding of what local groups find difficult in terms of prioritising, undertaking and using evaluations, and what contributes to the development of evaluation capability; joint understanding of how constructive inter-agency approaches to evaluation might be developed; and joint assessment of the utility of different models of systemic evaluation for groups with different stakes in their communities. Finally, the paper illustrates how important continuing support for projects will be, and attempts to develop an evaluation support resource are underway.