Empowerment Evaluation : Knowledge and Tools for Self-Assessment and Accountability

This outstanding group of evaluators from academia, government, nonprofits, and foundations explores empowerment evaluation, a method for using evaluation concepts, techniques, and findings to foster improvement and self-determination.

Empowerment Evaluation begins with an in-depth examination of this type of evaluation as it has been adopted in academic and foundation settings. The book then focuses on the various contexts in which empowerment evaluation is conducted, ranging from resistant environments (in which significant effort is required to move from passive-compliance orientations) to responsive environments (that already have a tradition of self-determination and community organizing). Interesting highlights concerning the role empowerment evaluation has played in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' substance abuse prevention programs are detailed throughout the book. The contributors also provide down-to-earth tools and technical assistance needed to conduct empowerment evaluation. This volume concludes with themes that emerge from the chapters and recommendations concerning next steps. This serves to strengthen the links between empowerment evaluation and community capacity building.

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David M. Fetterman is CEO of Fetterman & Associates, consultants who provide evaluation services nationally and internationally, including for the U.S. Department of Education, the states of Arkansas and California, a variety of local level programs, and international programs in a range of countries. His agency also provides workshops and technical assistance training. David Fetterman was previously the Director of Evaluation in the School of Medicine at Stanford University, Director of Evaluation for Career Development and Alumni Relations in the School of Education, and Director of the MA Policy Analysis and Evaluation Program, also in the School of Education. He is co-chair of the Collaborative, Participatory, and Empowerment Evaluation topical interest group of the American Evaluation Association. He is the author of a number of books including Ethnography: Step-by-Step (SAGE, 2009), Foundations of Empowerment Evaluation (SAGE, 2000), and co-editor with Abraham Wandesman of Empowerment Evaluation: Principles in Practice (Guilford, 2004) and with Shakeh Kaftarian and Abraham Wandesman of Empowerment Evaluation: Knowledge and Tools for Self-Assessment & Accountability (SAGE, 1996).

Shakeh Kaftarian Ph.D. is a research psychologist and Senior Advisor for Women’s Health and Gender Research at the National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services.

Abraham Wandersman (Ph.D Cornell University) is Professor of Psychology, University of South Carolina, where he teaches environmental and ecological psychology, community psychology, and program evaluation.His research interests include citizen participation in community development and mental health, program evaluation and accountability, and prevention and health promotion. He is the co-author of a number ofhealth promotion reports for the RAND Corporation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is the author (with J. Dalton and M. Elias) of Community Psychology: Linking Individuals and Communities (Second Edition,Wadsworth, 2007), and editor (with David Fetterman and Shakeh Kaftarian) of Empowerment Evaluation: Knowledge and Tools for Self-Assessment and Accountability (SAGE, 1996).