Responsive Metaevaluation: Using Participatory Method to Improve Program Evaluations

Abstract

Program evaluation is intended to help program funders, staff, and recipients know whether a program is executed as planned and whether it reaches its desired impacts. Metaevaluations, which are systematic evaluations of program evaluations, provide an independent check on those evaluations and are especially helpful when evaluations are conducted internally. In this article, I describe my experiences as a metaevaluator for a large-scale technical assistance program. Combining conventional metaevaluation with participatory research, I worked with program leadership, evaluators, and staff to assess the evaluation and identify opportunities to enhance it (and, thereby, the program). While the primary aim of the metaevaluation was to help the evaluation team produce credible and relevant findings, the process also addressed adversarial relationships between groups with varying levels of power. This article illustrates how anthropology's concepts, frameworks, and methods continue to enrich program evaluation.