Hello friends. I’m Jewlya Lynn, a systems change strategist and evaluator. I’m here today to challenge your thinking. Let’s begin with a basic question: What is a theory of change (TOC)? At its core, it’s a prediction about the future, and typically about a specific future where interventions result in outcomes, ultimately leading to a …
Hi, my name is Katie Fox, and I am principal associate at Innovation Network, a nonprofit research and evaluation organization based in DC. I came to the evaluation field three years ago after spending the previous decade as an organizer, advocate, and funder of various social justice issues. Over the past year, we have all …
This is Sarah Stachowiak, writing to you from the unceded lands of the Duwamish People, in present-day Seattle, Washington, in the United States. As of this writing, the United States government federally recognizes 574 tribes; the Duwamish tribe is not one of them. In the 1855 Point Elliott Treaty, the Duwamish ceded territory—but not sovereignty—to …
Hello! My name is Melanie Kawano-Chiu, and I lead evaluation and learning at the Disability Rights Fund/Disability Rights Advocacy Fund (DRF/DRAF), a participatory grantmaker that resources persons with disabilities. With more than a decade of experience in peacebuilding and advocacy evaluation, I’m here to share an approach that grounds monitoring, evaluation, and learning in human …
Hello! We are Dr. Albertina Lopez (she/her), Julia Coffman (she/her), and Mariah Brothe Gantz (she/her) with the Center for Evaluation Innovation. Over the last two years, we have been evaluating the advocacy and systems change work of The California Endowment’s (TCE) Building Healthy Communities’ (BHC) initiative, a 10-year, $1 billion effort launched in 2010 to help …
Hello! We are Allister Byrd and Joel Gutierrez from ORS Impact joined by Shannon Williams from the Alliance For Justice. Over the past year, our ORS Impact team partnered with state-based advocacy organizations across the country, working to protect and advance safety-net systems and policies. A large part of our evaluative inquiry focused on learning …
My name is Kat Athanasiades and I’m a Senior Associate with the Center for Evaluation Innovation (CEI). We work to advance evaluation practice in areas that are challenging to assess, which tend to be areas of high complexity such as advocacy and policy change. Nonprofit advocates and funders doing advocacy work engage in a range of tactics such …
APC TIG Week: It’s Time to Evaluate 501(c)(4) Activities by Kat Athanasiades Read More »
We are Heather Lewis-Charp and Laura Pryor, researchers at SPR, an evaluation firm located in Oakland, California. Within the advocacy field, framing is often key to winning in the court of public opinion. Phrases that capture the influence of complex issues on people’s lives have a powerful effect on how individuals and policy makers understand …
I’m Nicole Robinson, an evaluator of color living in Wisconsin. I will always remember where I was and what I was feeling on election night during the surprise win of Donald Trump. Furthest from my mind was evaluation even though I have been an evaluator for over ten years. His election changed the political context …
APC TIG Week: The Political Context: Paradoxical Observations by Nicole Robinson Read More »
Hi, I’m Barbara Klugman. My practice focuses on evaluation of social justice advocacy. One of the challenges I frequently bump into is how to evaluate training done or conferences run in support of advocacy. Clients may have done a post-event survey indicating that participants gained new knowledge or met new people, both of which were …
