REFLECTIONS ON FACILITATING A PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY SELF-EVALUATION

This paper is a reflective essay about our experience in conducting a participatory, community self-evaluation of a neighborhood revitalizat ion effort in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We took a controversial approach t o evaluation by focusing on learning community dialogues as a vehicle for program evaluation. As we implemented our strategy, two sets of co ntradictions surfaced. The first points to the fundamental differences between conventional and constructivist research paradigms. The secon d centers around our focus on dialogue as a strategy for evaluation. I n response to these contradictions we performed three complementary ro les: program evaluator, process consultant, and learning facilitator. We are not implying that we performed an outstanding job in these role s. Rather, this article is our way of taking stock of what we learned about our practice as evaluators and how we may expand our repertoire of skills in the future. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights res erved.