Giving Compass' Take:

• Foundations are starting to adopt a paradigm called equitable evaluation, a process that centers on equity and feedback/reflection to make the most impact.

• Although this evaluation process is for grantmakers, individual donors can obtain valuable insight into how equity, feedback, and collaboration are becoming significant components of evaluation in philanthropy.

• Read more about equity in evaluation.

Should the “rigor” yardstick, used in traditional evaluation practice, be used to assess an equity-focused mission? Does centering questions of validity, objectivity, and appropriateness advance equity? A growing group of funders and evaluators would answer “no” to both questions.

Traditional evaluation practices center dated ideas of validity, rigor, and appropriateness thereby concretizing the very inequities, power dynamics, and biases many justice-oriented foundations seek to undo. Acknowledging the misalignment, some foundations and evaluators have pushed to shift the evaluation paradigm so that it becomes a tool for and of equity for those that have made equity their mission.

The new paradigm – coined equitable evaluation (EE) – imbues the evaluation process with equity, makes a foundation’s values explicit, and asks questions that lead to deeper reflection and insight rather than mere data collection. Several foundations are supporting the development of the paradigm and various professionals, evaluators, and foundations are prototyping and developing the new frame through specific evaluation projects.

In response to member demand for additional resources and tools to support their missions, NCG is joining forces with several other philanthropy serving organizations to advance the learning and practice of equitable evaluation. The group, called Associations Advancing Equitable Evaluation Practices (AAEEP), has issued a statement setting forth our commitment to providing EE resources and learning to support the important equity-focused work to which many of our members are already committed and actively funding.

Our shared commitment and collaboration will advance equitable evaluation by:

  • Building the field.
  • Strengthening ties and fostering cooperation among funders.
  • Reduce overlap and redundant efforts.

Read the full article about equitable evaluation structure by Jo Christine Miles at Northern California Grantmakers.