Telling stories of evaluation to business leaders

Evaluators are skilled storytellers, as we translate “impersonal facts and figures” into something that can inspire action. In addition to telling stories about our work, we tell stories about ourselves and our value. In contexts where evaluation has been historically embedded, such as nonprofit & philanthropy, the value of evaluation is largely understood and the stories that we tell take for granted a shared understanding. But this is not the case in market-based contexts, where evaluation may be benignly misunderstood, or worse, seen as poor value for money, and delivering no market benefits.
As the world, including capitalism, moves towards a greater focus on creating positive change for people and planet, be that Corporate Social Responsible, or ESG, it is critical that evaluators gain access to participate in the key tables and conversations, to make sure that this system-changing work is done efficiently and effectively. In order for evaluators to sit at these tables, we must tell new stories to a new audience that dispels myths and builds understanding for our value.
As an evaluator who has made the pivot from grant-funded public service organizations, to corporate settings, where I bring and translate the toolkit of evaluation for a new context, helping to align company’s missions to their business priorities. I will share my story, my strategies and lessons learned about how I approached building buy-in among business leaders, what’s worked for me and what else is needed.