Evaluate and Explain the Key Components of Partnership-Based Evaluation

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The Answer is Partnership-based evaluation is grounded in the relationships developed among the partners. Whether discussing options in a planning meeting, considering evaluation processes, or working to interpret findings, the quality of the relationship among the partners is paramount. This relationship is facilitated by several key practices:
1. Engage in open, direct communication: This is foundational, regardless of the content or focus of discussion. Whether talking or writing about goals, needs, and objectives, or about what is working well versus not, the bedrock of a partnership relationship is honest, sound communication. Email or phone contact is often necessary and important, but in-person interaction is also crucial.
2. Ensure that the partnership is mutually beneficial: As part of building trust and developing partnership relationships, it is necessary for communication and activity to focus on identifying and addressing needs (in the short- and long term) relevant to all partners. This can help all partners gauge the degree to which they can contribute to meeting those needs. While a focus on the partners' needs (e.g., documenting program effectiveness to funders) is important, perhaps even more important is sustaining a focus on accomplishing the goals of the program, which generally means meeting the needs of a program or initiative's intended beneficiaries. A focus on program goals can help ensure that the inevitable costs of evaluation efforts (e.g., resources needed to build capacity, time spent in collecting data) are viewed in light of a shared sense of mission to improve the outcomes for the organization or program's intended beneficiaries (note, we use that term specifically, rather than "client" or "consumer" because we recognize that there are potentially many intended beneficiaries that may not have direct contact with a program or organization, and that simply because a program or organization serves a client, that they do not necessarily benefit from the program). This shared sense of purpose can be important in maintaining a sense of trust and a spirit of collaboration.
3. Employ practices consistent with community-based participatory research (CBPR) or participatory action research: CBPR has been defined as, "a collaborative research approach that is designed to ensure and establish structures for participation by communities affected by the issue being studied, representatives of organizations, and researchers in all aspects of the research process to improve health and well-being through taking action, including social change." This approach is well-suited to partnership-based evaluation to facilitate social change and impact. Core CBPR practices include shared governance of the effort; joint decisions regarding questions, measures, and methods; co-learning and reciprocal transfer of expertise; joint discussion of how to use and interpret findings; and mutual ownership of processes and products. Thus, the community partners are full and collaborative participants in all elements of the evaluation. Such steps put principles of partnership into actual practice and increase the likelihood that our evaluation products can have an impact.

Evaluate and Explain the Key Components of Partnership-Based Evaluation

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