Hello, AEA365 community! Liz DiLuzio here, Lead Curator of the blog. This week is Individuals Week, which means we take a break from our themed weeks and spotlight the Hot Tips, Cool Tricks, Rad Resources and Lessons Learned from any evaluator interested in sharing. Would you like to contribute to future individuals weeks? Email me at AEA365@eval.org with an idea or a draft and we will make it happen.
Greetings, I’m Quisha Brown, the mind behind the Progressive Outcomes Scale Logic Model (POSLM), a methodology designed to uncover systemic issues stemming from unfair systems and policies. Unlike traditional methodologies, the POSLM relies on the real-time experiences of individuals in marginalized communities. When communities seek to initiate policy and system changes, comprehensive engagement is crucial. The POSLM steps in by analyzing qualitative data to grasp community sentiments and converting these insights into actionable indicators for organizations to act upon.
The Evidence Act underscores the government’s commitment to rebuilding public trust by integrating data and evaluation into a cohesive framework. This legislation prioritizes evidence-based decision-making. As we witness the full implementation of the Evidence Act, there’s a unique opportunity to delve deeper into qualitative data, enriching policy-making with a more nuanced understanding of societal challenges.
Presently, numerous grassroots groups endeavor to effect change from the ground up. They advocate for policies shaped by community input, rather than dictated from above. Collaboratively, these groups craft policy position statements supported by robust evidence. These statements, extending beyond quantitative metrics, illuminate the underlying reasons for the erosion of trust in government. Often, this distrust stems from a feeling of voicelessness and a perception that policy position statements are ignored by those in power.
For instance, I recently collaborated with an organization striving to reform their state’s education system. The organization created a coalition, bringing together parents, advocates, and legal experts to identify policy changes beneficial to education transformation. Employing the POSLM and community narratives, I worked with them to outline four key focus areas for change. We then pinpointed actionable indicators highlighting policy position issues and steps for advocacy, such as gathering supporting evidence or first working with coalition members to determine their collective stance on various issues. With the POSLM’s structured approach, the coalition is able to remain focused on their advocacy efforts, even as leadership changes occur. As you can see, these policy position statements are not hastily assembled. Rather, they represent meticulously crafted documents resulting from thorough deliberation among stakeholders and comprehensive research. They serve as substantiated evidence, underscoring the urgent necessity for policy reform.
Amidst this era of evidence-based governance, a critical question emerges: what happens to meticulously crafted policy position statements advocating for change? These statements are more than bureaucratic artifacts; they embody the community’s desires and concerns. They reflect what citizens care about and wish to see changed. However, a lack of acknowledgement or response from the government fosters distrust.
It is incumbent upon evaluators to facilitate policymakers’ access to vital evidence held within the policy position statements developed by community-led policy change initiatives. As we assess programs, our duty extends beyond merely highlighting successes; we must also underscore areas for improvement, emphasizing how the implementation of appropriate government policies and systems could have optimized community-led policy and systems change initiatives.
Rad Resources:
- Storytelling For Systems Change: Insights From the Field Report
- Key findings about Americans’ declining trust in government and each other
- Monitoring & Evaluation for Advocacy Work
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