National Health Outreach and Engagement Conference 2024

Authors: Kim Eshleman, Tammy Chase-Brunelle, MA, CHES, Catherine E. Sanders, PhD


Because of the complex nature of policy, system, and environmental (PSE) change, adaptive evaluation frameworks are needed to capture stories of impact across a diversity of stakeholders. Qualitative participatory methods, rooted in appreciative inquiry and developmental evaluation frameworks and community engagement principles, may be particularly suited to measuring PSE outcomes. These frameworks can convey critical contextual insights related to social determinants of health, community processes and impacts that can contribute to a foundation for community agency and sustainable change.
Through the use of participatory evaluation frameworks and narrative methods, our user-focused evaluation can enhance community-facing evaluation efforts and communicate impact to the stakeholders who are most acutely experiencing on-the-ground changes. It also offers a capacity-building perspective for community members and agents wanting to enhance their ability to conduct community-focused and culturally responsive evaluation approaches within their work.
As a sustainable approach to nutrition security and community health and well-being, Steps to Health, a SNAP-Ed program is piloting a learning collaborative that will use a layered approach to contribute to long-term impacts by increasing knowledge, skills, confidence and decreasing reliance on outside experts. The vision for the Community-Centered Engagement Learning Collaborative is to serve as an incubator for agents and community partners/leaders to enact holistic community change by leveraging all resources and assets available within their community. Using a place-based collective impact approach may enhance an equitable approach with buy-in from decision-makers, the community, and important actors from various sector areas to address a common agenda.