Growing stronger together: Sharing a story of culturally responsive evaluation with indigenous families and communities

Abstract

BackgroundGaps exist in understanding how to create and conduct culturally responsive evaluations. This information is particularly critical when working with evidence-based programs and when involving populations that have and continue to experience oppression and trauma. ObjectiveWe share our story of developing and carrying out a culturally responsive evaluation of an EBP, Strengthening Families Program (SFP), with Indigenous families. Participants and settingA collective storytelling approach was used based on reflections from the evaluation team and key implementation staff. MethodsWe used a collective storytelling approach, organizing the content around six previously identified principles of Indigenous research (Tsosie et al., 2022). ResultsEmerging themes, supported by quotes throughout, illustrate the importance of organizing the integration of culture into the evaluation through the six principles of Indigenous research: respect, relationship, relevance, reciprocity, responsibility, and representation. ConclusionWorking toward a culturally responsive evaluation allowed for the creation of more meaningful connections with Indigenous community partners and families. It also acknowledged insights that partners and families bring to the work and encouraged multi-directional learning to occur between evaluators, partners, and families.