Description

Culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE) requires the integration of diversity, inclusion, and equity in all phases of evaluation. CREE incorporates cultural, structural, and contextual factors (e.g., historical, social, economic, racial, ethnic, Indigenous, sovereign tribes, gender) using a participatory process that shifts power to individuals most impacted (Mendez & Taniuchi, 2020). CREE is not just one method of evaluation; it is an approach that can be infused into all evaluation methodologies. CREE advances equity by informing strategy, program improvement, decision-making, policy formation, and change (Expanding the Bench® Team and Advisory Team (2019)). The emphasis is to inform evaluators on ways of being that lends itself to a variety of ways of doing. The goal is to shift the evaluation landscape so that funders, evaluators, and partners focus on cultural responsiveness and equity.

Unique Contributions

The culturally responsive and equitable evaluation approach provides a bridge between equitable and culturally responsive evaluation approaches. It examines both the evaluation process and outcomes that lead to equity and social justice. It combines strategies used in other evaluation approaches and expects the work to be adaptable to different contexts and communities. Since CREE has emerged as a compilation of other culturally responsive and equitable evaluation approaches, it borrows strategies from the other approaches in an attempt to combine an emphasis on both culturally responsive strategies and equitable outcomes while providing practical guidance for evaluators (Mendez & Taniuchi, 2020; Ghanbarpour et al., 2020).

History

Culturally responsive and equitable evaluation is a combination of culturally responsive, equity-focused, and social justice evaluation approaches. CREE emerged from the Expanding the Bench® (ETB) Initiative founded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Since 2018, ETB has been led by Change Matrix and aims to change the evaluation ecosystem to be more diverse, inclusive, equitable, and culturally responsive. ETB emphasizes people, practice, and field in the work, and understands that each of these need to transform in order for communities to use evaluation to drive change toward social justice. As Change Matrix embarked on this work, the ETB Team considered the meaning and definition of terms like “culturally responsive” and “equitable” evaluation. A review of the literature — focused on culturally competent, empowerment, and transformative evaluation approaches — revealed key concepts that emerged as important to include in the CREE definition: the importance of current and historical cultural contexts, inclusive and participatory evaluation practices, and the use of evaluation to drive change and advance equity. The ETB Advisory Team also informed the ETB definition of CREE. Additionally, 2019 evaluation findings from Leaders in Equitable Evaluation and Diversity (LEEAD), a pathway training program of ETB that aims to increase the number of diverse evaluators practicing CREE, indicated that the program helped increase the number of diverse evaluators in the evaluation ecosystem, but its culturally responsive and equity content could be strengthened (Expanding the Bench® Team and Advisory Team (2019)). Change Matrix worked with content experts and a university to enhance the curricula, which now includes a strong focus on CREE approaches. Change Matrix has worked to create a shared language and understanding of CREE through the work of ETB. In 2021, for example, ETB hosted the CREE Learning Series to provide learners the opportunity to hear how peers and others are approaching CREE, reflect on opportunities to apply CREE to their work, and identify strategies that lead to more equitable evaluation outcomes (Expanding the Bench, 2021). Through the Learning Series, CREE approaches are being collaboratively explored and articulated.

PRINCIPLES

Promotion of equity and social justice; attendance to issues of power

As indicated by its name, a focus on equity is inherent to culturally responsive and equitable evaluation . As part of the CREE Learning Series, Tamara Cadet addresses why equity matters and draws from Chimamanda Adichie who explains, if we only hear about a people, place, or situation from one point of view, we risk accepting one experience as the whole truth (Expanding the Bench, 2021, video 1.3). In video 2.4 of the Learning Series (Expanding the Bench, 2021), Michael P. Arnold addresses the importance of being intentional and transparent in our work and our definitions of equity to help create a better understanding of equity goals.

Engagement of partners and community members, particularly those with less social power, during all phases of the evaluation

In keeping with the definition of culturally responsive and equitable evaluation, Lemos and Garcia (2020) assume that community members are partners and are an essential part of the evaluative process, from conceptualization to dissemination. They argue that the community must be involved in the change process, with data made available to community members in order to bring about change. Evaluators need to spend adequate time during the design phase to align their understanding, expectations, and strategies. Lemos and Garcia (2020) state that evaluators who work collaboratively with diverse Latinx and other diverse communities should ensure that these perspectives are integrated throughout the process and address unanticipated challenges.

Composition of evaluation team and reflection on assumptions and biases

Culturally responsive and equitable evaluation advocates for diverse evaluation teams that provide multiple voices and perspectives. “Evaluators must recognize that different life experiences lead to different views of the world, and that linguistic, historical, and socioeconomic differences can be contributors and/or barriers to understanding” (Public Policy Associates, 2015). Suggestions include hiring staff from diverse backgrounds and life experiences. To understand the community perspective, evaluation team members should include evaluators who share similar experiences. “For areas where the evaluation team does not have shared life experiences with the priority population and cannot compensate for that fact, be very conscious of these differences and how they might impact key evaluation findings” (Public Policy Associates, 2015). CREE also stresses the importance of evaluators’ awareness of their own biases and recommends cultural competence training (Anderson et al., 2020).

Consideration of cultural and historical contexts and different worldviews

Cultural and historical context are acknowledged and addressed in culturally responsive and equitable evaluations. “Evaluators should also recognize the continuing reality of white privilege and structural oppression that perpetuate racial inequity in America today and develop evaluation protocols that account for these factors. Finally, evaluators using this lens must recognize that each community has its own history and context, which must be acknowledged and considered when assessing the impact of social investments and developing findings and recommendations” (Public Policy Associates, 2015).

Intentional methods and thoughtful data collection

Culturally responsive and equitable evaluation is a compilation of culturally responsive and equity-focused evaluation approaches. Analysis and dissemination would follow those of culturally responsive evaluation, culturally responsive Indigenous evaluation, and other participatory approaches that lead to both accessible and actionable findings. It includes engagement of the priority population in the analysis and interpretation of the data in order to develop contextualized and sustainable recommendations (Mendez & Taniuchi, 2020; Anderson et al., 2020).

Intentional analysis and inclusive interpretation

Culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE) is a compilation of culturally responsive and equity-focused evaluation approaches. Analysis and dissemination would follow those of culturally responsive evaluation, culturally responsive Indigenous evaluation, and other participatory approaches that lead to both accessible and actionable findings. It includes engagement of the priority population in the analysis and interpretation of the data in order to develop contextualized and sustainable recommendations (Mendez & Taniuchi, 2020; Anderson et al., 2020).

Accessible and actionable evaluation findings

Culturally responsive and equitable evaluation is a compilation of culturally responsive and equity-focused evaluation approaches. Analysis and dissemination would follow those of culturally responsive evaluation, culturally responsive Indigenous evaluation, and other participatory approaches that lead to both accessible and actionable findings (Mendez & Taniuchi, 2020; Anderson et al., 2020).