RESUMO
We conducted a rapid scoping review of empirical studies to identify how persons with intellectual and other cognitive disabilities have been engaged as active members of research and evaluation teams. We conducted a literature search using a systematic method that accessed peer reviewed studies in relevant library databases and all major evaluation journals. The search resulted in 6,624 potential articles, of which 32 met the inclusion criteria for this study. The findings address three categories of interest: 1) methodological underpinnings and practical justifications for using inclusive approaches, 2) different inclusion processes, and 3) reflections by researchers with and without intellectual and other cognitive disabilities. Findings provide conceptual and practical insights for researchers and evaluators when designing inclusive methods involving persons with intellectual and other cognitive disabilities. Gaps in inclusive research and evaluation are discussed and suggestions for future research are proposed.
RESUMO
The inclusion of stakeholders in participatory evaluation in highly diverse, culturally complex settings remains a challenge, given issues of inequity, power, voice, capacity and skill. These challenges are well documented, but there is a relative absence of papers devoted to addressing them based on examples and evidence. In this paper, we report our review of 51 empirical studies of participatory evaluations conducted in the international domain, focusing on the methods of inclusion used in the evaluations. Our findings address "the who" (which stakeholders are included and which excluded), "the why" (rationales for participation) and "the how" (by what means and in what manner) of inclusion. We were struck by the scale of some development programs, geographically and in terms of the number of diverse program sponsors and stakeholders, and how this necessitated highly creative, innovative participatory techniques to ensure that anyone (and in some cases everyone) could have a voice in the process, regardless of location, language ability, privilege, power, gender, age or culture.
Assuntos
Participação da Comunidade/métodos , Pesquisa Participativa Baseada na Comunidade/métodos , Participação dos Interessados , Comportamento Cooperativo , Diversidade Cultural , Feminino , Estrutura de Grupo , Humanos , Internacionalidade , Relações Interpessoais , Relações Interprofissionais , Masculino , Desenvolvimento de Programas , Avaliação de Programas e Projetos de SaúdeRESUMO
Social innovation (SI) is billed as a new way to address complex social problems. Interest in SI has intensified rapidly in the last decade, making it an important area of practice for evaluators, but a difficult one to navigate. Learning from developments in SI and evaluation approaches applied in SI contexts is challenging because of 'fuzzy' concepts and silos of activity and knowledge within SI communities. This study presents findings from a systematic review and integration of 41 empirical studies on evaluation in SI contexts. We identify two isolated conversations: one about 'social enterprises' (SEs) and the other about non-SE 'social innovations'. These conversations diverge in key areas, including engagement with evaluation scholarship, and in the reported purposes, approaches and use of evaluation. We identified striking differences with respect to degree of interest in collaborative approaches and facilitation of evaluation use. The findings speak to trends and debates in our field, for example how evaluation might reconcile divergent information needs in multilevel, cross-sectoral collaborations and respond to fluidity and change in innovative settings. Implications for practitioners and commissioners of evaluation include how evaluation is used in different contexts and the voice of evaluators (and the evaluation profession) in these conversations.
Assuntos
Pesquisa Empírica , Conhecimento , Serviço Social/organização & administração , Comportamento Cooperativo , Humanos , Avaliação de Programas e Projetos de Saúde , Serviço Social/economia , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
In participatory or collaborative evaluation practice, context is considered a complex, relational and social phenomenon that frames the parameters of the inquiry process in profound ways. To help us expand upon our understanding of context, we borrow the concept of "space" from the critical geographers, as it provides a bridge between the social and geographic complexities of context, enabling us to more fully capture the social and relational dynamic that fundamentally defines participatory evaluation. Our focus is on understanding context and relationships as two interconnected, dynamic and constituent parts of evaluation practices that feature participatory spaces. We then turn to a comparative analysis of participatory practice across two published reviews of distinct sets of empirical studies as a way to extend our understanding of participatory evaluation in relation to its practical, and frequently complex, contextual expressions in the field. This comparative analysis enables us to develop a set of five dimensions (epistemic, temporal/historical, cultural, economic/organizational, political) that we believe captures the spatial and contextual characteristics and contours of participatory practice.