Evaluation Policy
Mary Ann Aabye (she/her/hers)
Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist
U.S. Department of State, District of Columbia, United States
Marie-Ellen Ehounou, n/a (she/her/hers)
Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist
U.S. Department of State, District of Columbia, United States
Nicole Germano (she/her/hers)
Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist
U.S. Department of State
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Location: Room 105
Abstract Information: Stories are powerful tools to illustrate and personalize our data. Whether based on quantitative or qualitative data, building stories with our data requires that we first collect it in a way that meets our ethical and legal obligations as evaluators. Stories and storytelling are a central component of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) monitoring & evaluation work. ECA’s Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Innovation (MELI) Unit utilizes data across a variety of sources and types to tell the collective story of how exchange programming has impacted the lives of participants and alumni around the world. As MELI’s responsibilities to the Bureau continue to expand, we established a data governance policy to ensure we maintain a consistent approach to data governance.
In our session, we will tell the story of how we created the MELI data governance policy as a case study, then facilitate a roundtable discussion with session attendees on using data policies to support their own organization’s storytelling efforts. MELI facilitators will guide session attendees interested in developing their own data policies in identifying priorities for their organizations. We will also leverage the voices of other attendees from organizations with existing data policies in sharing their journeys and experiences in developing those policies. Attendees will walk away from the session with a blueprint for developing or strengthening their own data policies to support their organization’s storytelling and mission.
Relevance Statement: Stories are powerful tools to illustrate and personalize our data. Whether based on quantitative or qualitative data, building stories with our data requires that we first collect it in a way that meets our ethical and legal obligations as evaluators. Data governance encompasses the people, processes, and information technology required to meet those obligations and tell impactful stories. Stories and storytelling are a central component of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) monitoring & evaluation (M&E) work. ECA’s Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Innovation (MELI) Unit utilizes data across a variety of sources and types to tell the collective story of how exchange programming has impacted the lives of participants and alumni around the world. As MELI’s responsibilities to the Bureau continue to expand, we established a data governance policy to ensure we maintain a consistent approach to data governance.
MELI’s data governance policy outlines the Unit’s commitment to responsible data stewardship and approach to ensuring effective data management. For MELI, using data responsibly in public diplomacy M&E requires balancing three overarching goals:
1. Supporting our ECA Colleagues: MELI sees itself as a service provider to its ECA colleagues. In that role, we seek to ensure offices have the data necessary to make informed decisions about their programs and other bureau activities. Any data we collect should meet the purpose of supporting ECA’s programmatic mission.
2. Transparency with the Public: MELI works to promote transparency, accountability, and value creation by making government data available to both internal and external stakeholders. The MELI Unit seeks to ensure that both internal and external stakeholders can analyze the same data used for ECA evaluation and research activities and reach the same results/conclusions.
3. Protecting the Confidentiality of our Respondents: MELI recognizes the need to balance the first two objectives with our obligation to protect the confidentiality and privacy of respondents who have participated in data collection efforts. We seek to ensure that the privacy of respondents is protected and that respondents have a choice in the collection process through strict and clear informed consent procedures.
MELI created the policy to ensure standards of data governance are upheld throughout the Unit’s evaluation and research activities. In addition, the policy provides guidelines for sharing data in support of the United States Government’s commitment to greater data transparency.
In our session, we will tell the story of how we created the MELI data governance policy as a case study, then facilitate a roundtable discussion with session attendees on using data policies to support their own organization’s storytelling efforts. MELI facilitators will guide session attendees interested in developing their own data policies in identifying priorities for their organizations. We will also leverage the voices of other attendees from organizations with existing data policies in sharing their journeys and experiences in developing those policies. Attendees will walk away from the session with a blueprint for developing or strengthening their own data policies to support their organization’s storytelling and mission.