Describe and explain the 4 strategies suggested by Kapp and Anderson for keeping consumers engaged throughout the evaluation process.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Kapp and Anderson recommend the following 4 strategies for keeping consumers engaged: (1) Give them a task in the implementation. Tasks might include giving them a role in data collection or routinely meeting with the staff engaged in data collection/processing. A natural inclination might be to leave key agency folks out of the evaluation process and involve them in activities that might be closer to key decisions. The commitment to the process must be constantly fostered and reinforced. The likelihood of pulling key actors into the process around key events has some potential efficiency, but it carries a significant risk to the commitment and enthusiasm around information utilization. (2) Aggressively update them on the progress of the project, including routine tasks and implementation. The more routine updates would include things like the training of interviewers, the selection of cases for interviewing, the development of human subject protection protocols, stories about the interviewing of survey participants, and so forth. Often, organizational glitches arise that require brainstorming or organizational intervention; information consumers typically have extensive resources to offer in these discussions. The updates on implementation of the evaluation project usually would include an overview of the plan and reports on routine progress (i.e., who does what, when, and how often?). (3) Review and critique the implementation plan. Eventual users of the information would review and critique the plan for the implementation, using their critical organizational expertise. For example, is the plan to use clerical staff under the supervision of family workers a feasible method for conducting phone interviews of clients? (4) Begin discussing the process of utilizing study findings. Update discussion can also act as preparatory sessions for the business of utilizing evaluation findings. It is never too early to begin discussing the process of utilizing study findings. It is beneficial to have many of these discussions prior to the reporting of data. This gives the decision makers a chance to think about the various roles in the process of making decisions as well as the variety of results that could occur and their respective possible decision avenues.