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Decolonize and Indigenize Approaches to Program Planning & Evaluation
Many of the logic models and theory of change frameworks are often developed with Western societies and cultures in mind. They are taught in most academic settings and valued by grant makers. When applied to non-Western cultural settings, however, they may lead to misleading results or yield initiatives that are not appropriate for the community. In fact, in many cases they may have unintended negative consequences. The frameworks included below address this cultural mismatch by offering approaches that reshape the logic of program planning and evaluation in response to the norms and values of specific communities. Although most of these examples feature indigenous communities, the culturally sensitive approaches they demonstrate can be adapted to other cultural settings as well.
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Most Significant Change (MSC)
Like theories of change, Most Significant Change (MSC) is a method of defining desired program outcomes, describing how they will be achieved, and explaining why they are achievable. Like logic models and theories of change, this technique is ideally developed collaboratively through brainstorming, and it is a strategy for monitoring progress toward outcomes. Unlike a theory of change, which produces quantifiable outcome indicators and relies on them to monitor progress, MSC is a qualitative approach. Instead of measurable outcome indicators, it relies on stories from the participating community to monitor success and to identify barriers. It is best suited to participatory program planning and evaluation, especially in cultural contexts where truth value is judged more by “voice” (storytelling) than by academic methods for establishing validity. This book (104 pages) takes the reader through the steps of the technique, reviews types of settings and initiatives where it has been successfully used, and discusses future directions. Four appendices provide detailed guidance for practitioners, including examples of story collection formats, significant change stories, story reporting formats, and a facilitation guide for story collection. The book’s overall approach aligns with strategies for decolonizing research and evaluation methods.
Authors: Rick Davies and Jess Dart Date: 2005
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A user-friendly, step-by-step guide for developing a program evaluation strategy, using plain language rather than technical jargon. Although the purpose is similar to the examples of logic models and theories of change included above, it is tailored to community-serving organizations that value implementing and evaluating their initiatives in partnership with the communities they serve. To that end, it incorporates communication with the community as a major aspect of the initiative. In addition to obtaining input from the community during planning stages, communicating interim and final results back to the community is addressed as an important factor. Communication methods range from print and television to social media such as blogs and networking sites as means for the organization to share results with a broad audience. A worksheet at the end guides the reader through the steps of program planning and evaluation
Authors: Developed by Asibey Consulting for The Communications Network
Date: 2008.
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A one-page summary of a culturally competent evaluation approach appropriate for initiatives implemented by and for indigenous communities.
Source: Urban Indian Health Institute Date: n.d
Decolonize, Indigenize, Organize
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A five-minute video narrated by Rose James (Lummi-Duwamish) “in collaboration with master weavers and community members of the Lummi Nation to create dialogue around Indigenous Evaluation.”
Source: Urban Indian Health Institute Date: 2018
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Indigenous Evaluation Methodologies
This report is written in an academic language but provides plenty of definitions and sidebars to help the non-academic reader navigate the terminology. It provides a critical view of Western methods and their colonizing effects when applied to indigenous communities. It then lays out a theoretical and practical basis for a program evaluation framework suitable for initiatives implemented in indigenous settings. The emphasis on community-based participatory research and the importance of centering the community context makes the report relevant to other cultural settings as well. The powerful notion of “two-eyed seeing” developed by Elder Albert Marshall is discussed as a model for combining the strengths of Western and indigenous knowledges to conduct culturally sensitive research and evaluation.
Source: Written by Marisa Van Bavel for the Public Health Agency of Canada Date: 2022
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Indigenous Evaluation Framework Book
A web page with links to the 10 chapters of the book plus a list of handouts and additional resources. Unlike the mostly linear flow of traditional logic models and theories of change, the indigenous framework is represented as a series of concentric circles. Core cultural values shared by most American indigenous peoples, such community, place, gifts, and sovereignty, are central to the framework. Incorporating indigenous knowledge and the wisdom of elders into program planning and evaluation are emphasized. Collecting evidence through storytelling is discussed in detail.
Source: American Indian Higher Education Consortium
Date: 2014