Elevating Participant Voices in Evaluation of Equity-Focused Public Sector Innovations: Learnings from King County Washington

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

By directing substantive and sustained investments toward innovative program and policy solutions, local governments play a vital role in advancing community and systemic equity. Beyond resource investments, the advancement of equity depends equally on local governments’ commitment to centering equity in practice—including in evaluation of programs and policies. Community members’ input offers a rich understanding of the context in which equity-focused program and policy innovations are implemented, received and experienced by those they are intended to serve. Administrative and performance data, the most typical components of government evaluations, do not provide sufficient depth of understanding to support insights that guide program and policy enhancements. Equitable evaluation that includes those served is a natural way for governments to more intentionally center equity in practice. In this Roundtable, King County will share our experience and make space for participants to do the same. The aim is to promote insights that help us all pursue equitable evaluation, program design and implementation, and policy development.

Equitable evaluation encompasses design and methods that are culturally appropriate, help to uncover structural and systems-level factors that drive inequity and that can be implemented with care so as not to perpetuate harms. Equitable evaluation explores whether, why, for whom, or under what circumstances programs and policy are optimally impactful. To advance equitable evaluation, King County and our research partners have prioritized approaches that incorporate the perspectives and experiences of those most affected by programs and policies of interest, as inclusion promotes participant ownership and support learning and responsive improvement.  Inviting and listening to the voices of affected individuals and groups introduces critical opportunities for understanding and collaboration. Such evaluation approaches can also surface specific bright spots and challenges, as well as ways to improve program and policy innovations and support cultural relevance—all of which boost the likelihood that innovations will deliver impact.

While inclusion of community input is a core equitable evaluation practice, it can be difficult to build into government evaluations. This session highlights how King County has addressed a range of challenges, including budgeting sufficient time and resources for implementation of equitable evaluation approaches, providing fair compensation to community members who participate in evaluation activities, reaching very vulnerable program participants, and navigating certain orthodoxies that are common to government agencies—such as the ways that timelines often are prioritized over trust-building and relationships, and ways that performance and impact measures are valued above the opportunity to learn about and improve upon interventions.

Presenters will describe evaluations of equity-focused innovations implemented by different King County departments, each of which includes input from community members affected by the specific program or policy. Featured projects include policy innovations related to public transit access, thriving childcare worker wages, and community-power building.

Policy Area

• Social Equity and Race

Secondary Policy Area

• Methods and Tools of Analysis

Moderator

• Anne A Gienapp, King County, Washington

Organizer

• Anne A Gienapp, King County, Washington

Speakers

• Kalayaan Domingo, King County

• Claire Evans, King County Metro Transit

• Roxana Chen, Public Health Seattle & King County

• Lauren Dinsmore, King County