Recent Updates
Evaluate for Change Workshop!
A 2-day workshop (May 23rd and 24th) specifically designed for social change and community-based organizations to learn how to use evaluation as a tool for change. You will learn about evaluation as a critical tool for empowerment and strengthening your organizational capacity. Understand how to integrate … [Read More...]
Building Community Advocacy Capacity: A Few Lessons Learned from Tobacco Policy Change
In the spirit of making sure that evaluation resources provide the greatest benefit, we are sharing these findings from an evaluation conducted from late 2009 to early 2012, for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Two members of AEC were senior evaluators on RWJF’s Tobacco Policy Change (TPC) evaluation. AEC … [Read More...]
An Evaluator’s Contribution to Sandy Hook
Supporting Healing and Empowerment On December 14, 2012, a tragedy occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. A strong reaction rippled across the country and, in many cases, this inspired action to build awareness, peace and stronger communities. Within days, the Sandy Hook Healing Project (SHHP), … [Read More...]
Evaluating impact and defining success
A collection of resources on impact evaluation, with a particular emphasis evaluating complex social change and transformative development processes. Includes alternative and emerging approaches, and current debates around the politics of defining value. … [Read More...]
Theory of Action/Theory of Change - From theory to practice….
Much of our work as evaluators and capacity builders integrates an approach called Theory of Action (ToA). ToA is similar to Theory of Change (ToC), and in practice there is often little difference between the two in implementation. Generally, ToA provides some boundaries to the process and focuses on an organization, … [Read More...]
Linking Theory with Action - An example
Background: We recently conducted a Theory of Action process with a capacity building organization, the Progressive Technology Project (PTP), which works with political organizing and social movement groups in the U.S. The group wanted to develop their Theory of Action, but also have a very focused discussion … [Read More...]
AEC is Working with MOUSE! The ongoing evaluation of innovative youth development/technology programming
In other exciting AEC news! We are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue working with MOUSE, an innovative youth development organization that empowers underserved students to provide technology support and leadership in their schools, supporting their academic and career success. MOUSE offers youth a … [Read More...]
Capacity building-Mexico: Getting the community’s point of view
For background on this project, read Capacity building-Mexico:Reflections on a new project (below on front page..) Other than working with the grantee project staff on their Theory of Action, we also visited the project beneficiaries. Our goals were to understand what has happened to date, the community’s … [Read More...]
Capacity building-Mexico:Theories of Action and establishing an evaluation framework
As part of our project conducting a participatory assessment of a foundation's new grantee portfolio in southern Mexico, I'm now in the Yucatán, conducting site visits to groups on the peninsula. To recap, our goals for the project are: 1) Establish a monitoring baseline, which will retrospectively … [Read More...]
Evaluate for Change: Training Agenda
Training Agenda (may shift slightly based on specific needs of participants) Note: Participants will be assigned to a coach who will provide support to work with you on specific organizational projects. DAY 1 1. Evaluation: A Tool for Change Overview New ways of thinking about knowledge, data, participation, … [Read More...]
Theory of Change - Resources
A Review of the Use of 'Theory of Change' in International Development (UK Dept. of Int'l Development) Actknowledge (an organizations in the US making important contributions to the mainstreaming of ToC) and their online tool - TOCO New Philanthropy Capital guide to ToC An excellent collection of … [Read More...]