Organizational Learning & Evaluation Capacity Building
Jennifer Nulty- Marsack, MSW
CEO
Pivot Data Design, United States
Martena Reed, MSW
CEO
Reflective Evaluation, United States
Location: Room 105
Abstract Information: Every organization has their own unique strengths and areas for growth when it comes to using data for learning. As we wrap up the building phase of a large-scale evaluation capacity strengthening project, we seek to brainstorm a nuanced approach to designing a learning curriculum that has the ability to benefit small grassroots organizations and medium or larger grasstops organizations working to increase voter engagement among communities of color. This work requires an equity-centered approach to deciding what role the evaluation consultant should play in decision-making, how and to whom to offer these evaluation resources. It also calls for training, coaching and other capacity strengthening content that centers equity and justice and de-emphasizes extractive, racist research and data collection practices. In this session, we will begin by providing an overview of our approach to designing the initial phase of this large scale capacity strengthening project. The presenters will also share challenges they faced and how they used reflective practice to be responsive to context and center partner needs and interests. Next, participants will be invited to grapple with some of the same challenges and questions and reflect on their role as evaluators in supporting organizational evaluation capacity strengthening. Participants will be separated into three groups, each group focusing on a specific organization profile that varies by organization size, history with data collection, population served, evaluation staff size, etc. In those small groups, participants will consider: what types of evaluation support might be beneficial, how should incentives be structured, what is the best modality for delivering capacity strengthening resources, and what assets or skills can the partner share or teach others about. The session will conclude with a large group discussion where participants will have an opportunity to explore an approach for simultaneously supporting all types of organizations using a targeted universalism framework.
Relevance Statement: “Strengthening nonprofit organizations is not just a nice-to-have but essential..to ensure that nonprofits have the resources they need to address today’s most pressing social concerns.” (GEO, 2021) Empowering community based organizations to use data to build power is a core value of equitable evaluation. As evaluators, we should be uplifting community leaders to be leaders of their own learning. There is a long history of capacity building being rooted in racist structures of power and privilege. “Capacity building processes are often implemented in ways that lack reciprocity and reinforce harmful power dynamics.” (Non-profit Quarterly, 2022). In this project, we are working alongside community based partners to reimage capacity building as a space for community based organizations to uplift their strengths, share their stories, and learn from each other. We believe this session can be the start of a conversation for evaluators to imagine ways for evaluation capacity building to be transformative, not transactional.
References: https://www.geofunders.org/resources/reimagining-capacity-building-navigating-culture-systems-power-1340 https://nonprofitquarterly.org/should-we-cancel-capacity-building/