35 - That’s not my job: the role of evaluation for organizational change in service of racial equity.

Abstract Information: For years organizations have created equity action plans to respond to the elevated tensions and increased awareness of structural racism within their organizations and beyond. With so many of us being at home in 2020 and unable to ignore the impacts of systemic racism, organizations reacted by embarking on an organizational change journey. Evaluators were and are currently brought in to conduct another equity assessment, producing even more data for organizations. Yet, the desire to be responsive and data-driven has left some organizations stuck in the pre-implementation phase for years. Breaking this unending cycle requires organizational readiness.

In this workshop, we will explore how evaluators must participate in the change-making process as guides working with organizations to take an honest look at their organizational effectiveness to achieve their desired equity-focused goals.

Learning Outcomes
· To learn how to use a pathway of change to understand an organization’s readiness for change and the capacities and systems that need to be in place (e.g., vision, alignment of the leadership team, resources), specifically the concept of time and what is needed to realize an organization’s ultimate impact.
· To understand how to use scenario planning to identify necessary organizational conversations to work with leadership teams and staff (or equity teams) to refine or define their equity strategy and goals (e.g., be explicit about how far an organization is willing to go to pursue equity strategy).
· To learn how to use stakeholder maps to understand the power dynamics that can influence an organization’s necessary conversations to see the possibilities to move to action in service to equity.
· To learn how to move organizations from reactive to proactive in their efforts.

This session is structured in a “choose your own adventure” format. To create an inclusive environment for learning and participation, facilitators will use Mentimeter. Mentimeter is an interactive presentation software that enables every voice in the space to be included. This anonymous participation option ensures no one is left behind in the learning process. The facilitator will serve as a guide. They will provide a series of mini-talks with scenarios embedded throughout the presentation. Participants will be polled to select how they would approach the necessary conversation to move a resistant organization to act in each scenario. Mentimeter will serve as the chatbox and ‘debrief’ participant's thoughts or reactions to the scenarios. The facilitators will also discuss the role of evaluation in advancing equity, assessing organizations for readiness, ensuring an equity explicit strategy, and building capacity to begin and sustain the work. Following the discussion of the facilitated scenario, attendees will have the opportunity to share their challenges and questions, which will be provided anonymously to the panelists for their expert opinions.

Relevance Statement: The Power of Story is essential to evaluation, and as evaluators, it is our responsibility to tell the stories that contribute to and shape the narrative of evaluations. In this context, That's not my job: the role of evaluation for organizational change in service of racial equity is a timely and relevant professional development session that speaks to the theme of Evaluation 2023. This session will explore the importance of storytelling in evaluating organizational change efforts focused on racial equity and how evaluators can participate in the change-making process as guides working with organizations to take an honest look at their organizational effectiveness.

The workshop will cover various learning outcomes, such as how to use a pathway of change to understand an organization's readiness for change and the capacities and systems that need to be in place, how to use scenario planning to identify necessary organizational conversations to refine or define their equity strategy and goals, and how to use stakeholder maps to understand the power dynamics that can influence an organization's necessary conversations to move to action in service to equity.
This session's content aligns with the conference theme of The Power of Story, as it demonstrates how storytelling contributes to and shapes the narrative of evaluations, including those focused on organizational change efforts for racial equity. Furthermore, the learning outcomes of this workshop reflect the conference's goal of diving deeper into storytelling's usage, benefits, and impacts on our practices, as it highlights how storytelling can be used to ground evaluation work, convey data, and identify challenges left to address. Therefore, this session will be a valuable addition to the Evaluation 2023 conference program and a must-attend for evaluators interested in contributing to the narrative of evaluations focused on racial equity.