Participatory evaluation changes our focus from specialized, compartmentalized, isolated units, to communities in which people share a common mission and commitment. Framed in this way, evaluation becomes a communal activity, an activity in which the outcome is enhanced because of people working together. The process of participatory evaluation is rooted in an understanding that we are interdependent. Participatory evaluation and inquiry is not a panacea. It is an approach which causes dissonance and disequilibrium as participants are asked to be introspective and reexamine beliefs, ideas and practice.
Participatory inquiry takes time, skill, trust and patience for full cooperation to develop.
By design, participatory evaluation allows participants to take ownership and find value in an evaluation process. In doing so it moves us toward a practice which institutionalizes systemic evaluation and provides a focus on development, improvement and life-long learning. The time required to complete such an evaluation is substantial. In the study, evaluation team members met monthly for half-day sessions over one calendar year. This study could not have occurred without the on-going commitment of evaluation team members as well as the commitment of the administrators of the participating agencies.