Participatory evaluation in nonprofit organizations: Rhetoric or reality?

摘要

There is significant pressure for nonprofit organizations to demonstrate the value of their work. In response, many nonprofits have turned to program evaluation strategies to document their results and to identify areas for improvement. One strategy being employed by nonprofits is participatory evaluation. However, little is known about what stakeholder participation looks like on the ground or how much of it is occurring. Similarly, studies exploring the assumption that participation is associated with increased evaluation use have not been widely shared. This study answers two important research questions: How are stakeholders currently participating in nonprofit program evaluations? And how are different kinds of stakeholder participation related to different types of use?; Literature on participatory evaluation and evaluation use are reviewed. In addition, a new typology of nonprofit stakeholder participation is developed to classify participation levels based on decision making authority, responsibility for implementing evaluation activities, duration of participation, and amount of stakeholder representation.; This study is based on a national survey of 108 nonprofit organizations specializing in human services, employment and/or youth development and telephone interviews with a sample of 30 survey respondents. It presents findings about stakeholder involvement in evaluation design, data collection, and data analysis phases; stakeholder interest in and commitment to evaluation; stakeholder use of evaluation results; elements of a useful evaluation; effects on people involved in the evaluation process; and the relationship between stakeholder involvement and interest in the evaluation as well as use of the evaluation results. It also provides contextual information pertaining to the origin of the idea to conduct an evaluation, why evaluations were conducted, anticipated uses of evaluation results, and the presence of internal and external professional evaluators.; Understanding the type and amount of participatory evaluation occurring in the nonprofit sector, how evaluation is being used, and the connection between participation and use is important for scholars and practitioners alike. What once was the rhetoric of participatory evaluation in nonprofit organizations is now the reality.