Engaging interested people in the evaluation process increases the likelihood the findings will be used. This tip sheet is intended to provide evaluators and program staff with some ideas about engaging stakeholders in the evaluation effort. Evaluation stakeholders are people who have a vested interest in evaluation findings. Stakeholders include anyone who makes decisions or desires information about a program. Other stakeholders might include journalists, the general public, or policymakers.
Different stakeholders have different information needs.
If not, it may be worth asking key stakeholders what their information needs are and incorporating them into your evaluation design. Stakeholders play different roles based on their particular interest and information needs. Evaluators should work with program staff to involve stakeholders in activities that are of most interest to them. Evaluators can help stakeholders identify the intended uses for the evaluation. It may take multiple conversations, but having this type of information will help to plan the best ways to engage your various stakeholders with data in a way that is meaningful and helpful to them.