Government Evaluation
Sarah Randolph
Director, Office of Program Monitoring and Evaluation
U.S. Trade and Development Agency, United States
Sandra Williams, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Q-Q Research Consultants, LLC, United States
Laura Robinson
Senior Public Affairs Specialist
U.S. Trade and Development Agency
Location: Grand Ballroom 8
Abstract Information: The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA)'s mixed methods evaluation approach integrates collecting stories from stakeholders into its evaluation process to assess performance, tell multiple audiences its socioeconomic impact story, and inform and refine its evaluation strategy and learning agenda. USTDA helps developing countries implement sustainable infrastructure that fosters economic growth by funding project preparation for host-country private and public stakeholders and by building partnerships with U.S. businesses. We will showcase how storytelling is embedded throughout our evaluation framework. We will describe how we plan outreach to multiple stakeholders, listen to understand and engage with their different experiences, and conduct in-depth country-context analyses to collect powerful stakeholder stories that are a significant part to our evaluations. We will share experiences around stories, how they help make sense of the projects we support and feed into evidence-based narratives that help us assess USTDA’s role in project outcomes. We will cover how we triangulate stories with other data sources to formulate compelling evaluations; how these stories are used by staff (e.g., program, public affairs, senior management); and how USTDA uses stories to transparently communicate to existing and potential clients, U.S. government, and the public.
Presenter: Sandra Williams, Ph.D. – Q-Q Research Consultants, LLC
Presenter: Paul Marin, n/a – U.S. Trade and Development Agency
Presenter: Sarah Randolph – U.S. Trade and Development Agency