The challenge of evaluating what is already participatory
by Ángela María Báez-Silva Arias
When we set out to evaluate Co-Inspira, a peacebuilding initiative in Colombia, we knew we were facing an unconventional challenge. This was not about assessing a traditional intervention, but something far more complex: a Systemic Action Research (SAR) process that was, in itself, already a collective exercise in knowledge generation.
How do we evaluate a process that is, by nature, an exercise in Participatory Research? How do we avoid overburdening participants with an additional layer of evaluation work when they are already leading their own knowledge-generation process? In the chapter “Lessons from practicing Inclusive Rigor in the evaluation of a peace initiative in Colombia”, published in the book “Evaluation, Democracy and Transformation”, we share how we approached this methodological challenge through an evaluative learning process guided by the Inclusive Rigor framework.
What happens when those who have historically been evaluated become co-evaluators? How can such a change be fostered, managed, and capitalized upon? Is it possible to promote participatory evaluation from within public institutions? How?
In the third episode of this new podcast season, we share a chapter from the book ‘
‘Readiness’ is an English language term that is difficult to translate into Spanish as it encompasses various themes: preparation, availability, propensity, timeliness, agility, competency, willingness – among others. In the Spanish version of this entry, we use ‘availability’ (‘disposición’) with the understanding that it covers the other themes. In the field of evaluation, readiness is foremost across the first two steps of Utilization-focused Evaluation (UFE) as proposed by Michael Quinn Patton (2008). Readiness is also referenced in other fields, for instance in communication strategy design (Ramelan, 2014).
I’m genuinely delighted to share a personal take on Chapter 7: Participatory evaluation of a public transport support policy: an inclusion and transformation perspective – Jalisco (Mexico), recently published in the book Evaluation, Democracy and Transformation: Experiences of Participatory Evaluation in Latin America. I co-wrote it with Sugey Salazar and Selene Michi, and together with other colleagues we reflect on what it really means to carry out public policy evaluation using participatory approaches from within the public sector.
As we close this seven-year cycle of collective work, we wish to celebrate what we have built together: a vibrant community of practice and learning around participatory evaluation and inclusive approaches. Within it, every voice has contributed, every shared experience has enriched us, and every encounter has woven bonds that go beyond isolated practices, now reaching more than four thousand people and multiple organizations.
In 
With the enforcement of Mongolia’s Law on Special Protected Area 