The Value of Evaluation Technical Assistance
In our practice, we have seen a steady demand from organizations for tailored, capacity building evaluation technical assistance (TA). The types of TA range widely, from developing discrete products, thought partnership, and facilitation of longer-term participatory processes.
Most opportunities for evaluation TA exist within the context of grant programs or initiatives marked by specific activities and a preexisting timeline. This environment supports TA focused on completing the project rather than on building the evaluation capacity of the organization. We’ve observed the recurring challenge of finding ways to resource TA, in terms of programmatic structure and funding, so that it puts the decision-making regarding the focus and timing of the assistance in the hands of the TA recipient.
In mid-March, Success Measures was invited to speak on a webinar for the Washington Evaluators, a professional society devoted to fostering state-of-the-art knowledge and information sharing about evaluation. The panel, including Success Measures, talked about the value of capacity-building technical assistance for community-based organizations. The interactive discussion, moderated by Ivana Miranda, president of Washington Evaluators, was an opportunity to discuss the importance of TA among our evaluation peers. Given the audience, we chose to talk about our work with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation providing on-demand TA to their Healthy Communities grantees. It provided a concrete example of what a TA effort could look like and provided a springboard for broader conversation.
We were joined by our partners, Maryam Khojasteh and Melissa Nemon. Maryam is a senior program officer at the Research, Evaluation, and Learning at Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). She has been working at the field level to understand the value of TA and find ways to bring that support to organizations. Melissa, founder and CEO of Nemon Consulting, is a consultant with Success Measures who supported the project as one of TA providers for RWJF grantees.
The panelists discussed Success Measures’ approach and learning from providing evaluation TA over the last two decades. While Success Measures has supported tailored evaluation needs for RWJF Healthy Communities grantees since 2022, Maryam noted that evaluation TA is especially important in today’s environment when organizations are being asked to play new roles in their communities without additional resources for building their capacity to do so.
Maryam framed the evaluation and learning TA as an “organizational health function” where the process centers on the relationships between grantees and their TA providers, which gave them much-needed space to process the current moment and support their actual needs.
“If we only focus on progress and accountability, we are not providing a space for everyone to process their feelings. We wanted a space for people to digest what’s happening on the frontline,” Maryam said. Consultants not only help grantees solve evaluation problems, but they also act as a safe space to think through challenges without the demand of an end product or report.
Melissa talked about shifting consultant-supported evaluation to building a organization’s internal evaluation capacity. She described the consultant’s role as a relationship builder and a deep active listener. “Even if they tell you what the problem is, I’m asking questions about the actual challenges in the work to help them understand and tell their most effective stories of impact.” She added, “If they don’t need me by the end of our engagement, then I can feel good that I’ve done my job.”
The webinar was an opportunity to share our experience and learn with our evaluation peers. We will continue to build relationships with partners in the field and deepen our own practice for the benefit of the communities we serve.
We invite you to join in the conversation! Feel free to drop us an email at [email protected].
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Partners, Partnerships, and Acknowledgements
Melissa Nemon – Success Measures has worked with Melissa Nemon, founder and CEO of Nemon Consulting, on several projects for over a decade. Melissa brings deep expertise in rategy, implementation, and evaluation. Over the course of working with Melissa for many years, she has established herself as a deeply trusted consulting partner.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a leading national funder dedicated to creating a more equitable society, centered in health and wellbeing. Success Measures has worked with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on multiple projects since 2018. Success Measures most recently provided evaluation and learning technical assistance consulting services for the Foundation’s Healthy Grant Communities program. Past projects also include evaluations of collaborative efforts, such as the Health Impact Project and the Health Outcomes Demonstration Project, and other direct evaluation support of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation programs.
Washington Evaluators – Washington Evaluators is a regional professional society devoted to fostering state-of-the-art knowledge and information sharing about evaluation in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. We appreciate the support from Program Chair Quisha M. Brown, independent consultant and Executive Director of Humanistic Care.
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