STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION

PERFECTING STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION IN EVALUATION ACTIVITIES

By Mary Lou D’Allegro

Stakeholder input to determine evaluation priorities is an important aspect in evaluation. I am continually searching for evaluation designs that consider stakeholder identification and the impact of their input on determining those priorities.

 Lessons Learned:

1.      Know your Audience. The dialogue with faculty about evaluation, the ultimate co-conspirators in evaluation, can be profoundly different than the discussion with students, typically the participants. Additionally, understand the roles that each type of stakeholder may assume before, during, and after an evaluation.  

2.     Keep it Simple. For the sake of brevity, pragmatism, and sanity, design and implement the most straightforward and unpretentious evaluation possible. This also goes for the analysis; there is no need to burden stakeholders with unwieldy statistical analyses.  

3.     Evaluation is only as good as the worst storyteller. Sharing results is important. Having those understood and interpreted accurately by relevant stakeholders is imperative.

Mary is the Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Columbia State Community College and responsible for the program quality and the faculty who teach in those programs.