How do you evaluate programs in diverse cultures?

1 Understand the culture

Before you design and implement your evaluation plan, you need to understand the culture of the community you are working with. This means learning about their history, values, beliefs, norms, and practices. You also need to be aware of your own cultural assumptions and biases, and how they might affect your evaluation approach. You can use various methods to gain cultural knowledge, such as literature review, interviews, focus groups, observation, and participatory activities.

2 Involve stakeholders

One of the key principles of program evaluation is to involve stakeholders throughout the process. Stakeholders are the people who are affected by or interested in your program, such as beneficiaries, staff, donors, partners, and policymakers. By engaging them in the evaluation, you can ensure that your evaluation questions, methods, and results are relevant, useful, and respectful to their perspectives and needs. You can also build trust, rapport, and ownership among the stakeholders, and foster learning and improvement.

4 Analyze and interpret data

Once you have collected the data, you need to analyze and interpret them in a rigorous and respectful way. You need to be transparent about your data sources, methods, and limitations, and acknowledge any gaps, uncertainties, or contradictions. You also need to be mindful of the cultural nuances and meanings of the data, and avoid imposing your own values or judgments. You can use various techniques to enhance your data analysis and interpretation, such as triangulation (comparing different sources or methods), validation (checking with stakeholders or experts), or reflexivity (reflecting on your own role and influence).

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?