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Question

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The Answer is Both process and impact evaluations can differ in the extent to which they employ participatory or partner-oriented approaches. Three dimensions of participatory evaluation include partner selection (who participates?), depth of participation (i.e., the extent to which they participate), and control of the evaluation process (i.e., who makes the decisions?). Network analysis can be readily employed in process and impact evaluations that vary along each of these dimensions. However, when evaluators and their community partners adopt participatory or partner-oriented approaches, some special considerations are warranted (described below):
Who participates?: Network analysis can shed light on both of these considerations and can therefore be a powerful strategy for identifying potential partners for participatory and partner-oriented evaluations. First, because network analysis assesses the relationships between all actors in a setting, it provides a map of all the different subgroups or cliques that exist within that setting. For participatory or partner-oriented evaluations, it may be helpful to ensure that partners are drawn from each of these subgroups. Second, network analyses can be useful for determining who has power or influence. These methods can be used to determine who the opinion leaders are in a setting that might be important to have on board as evaluation partners.
To what extend do they participate?: When employing network analysis in participatory or partner-oriented evaluations, it is important to consider how and when community partners are involved and to take extra steps to ensure meaningful collaboration. For example, if community partners are involved in framing evaluation questions, evaluators may need to facilitate conversations about whether their interests focus on understanding individual actor attributes or relationships between these actors. If the latter, evaluators would need to work with community partners to consider and select relevant network methods and analyses that match these partners' evaluation questions.
Who makes the decisions?: Participatory or partner-oriented evaluations can also differ in the degree of decision-making control wielded by the evaluator or the community partners. Providing training in network analysis to community partners can build their capacity to lead evaluation studies that involve the collection and analysis of network data.

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