STEPS OF EMPOWERMENT EVALUATION - FROM CALIFORNIA TO CAPE-TOWN

The basic steps of empowerment evaluation include: a) taking stock or determining where you stand as a program, including strengths and weak nesses; b) focusing on establishing goals, determining where you want to go in the future with an explicit emphasis on program improvement; c) developing strategies and helping participants determine their own strategies to accomplish program goals and objectives; and d) helping program participants determine the type of evidence required to docume nt progress credibly toward their goals. These steps are designed to h elp program participants internalize evaluation as part of their progr am planning and management. Each step is illustrated by case examples drawn from work conducted in the School for Transformative Learning at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, the Oa kland Public School System in California, and townships around Cape To wn in South Africa. In addition, relevant mechanical concerns have bee n discussed including the role of meetings, facilitation teams, and co nsensual validation. Ideally, this approach is both liberating - freei ng participants from the status quo of evaluation and operation - and illuminating, as participants expand their awareness of what is possib le in their own universe.