Creative Evaluation and Engagement

Introducing MNEA's 3-part virtual series on Art Based Evaluation to enhance your knowledge and skills. The themed series will occur monthly in April, May, and June.

Register for the first presentation! Information and registration are below.

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Creative Evaluation and Engagement (CE&E) is principles-focused, art-infused, developmental evaluation for a whole, beautiful, and just world. CE&E is inspired by Michael Quinn Patton's books, Creative Evaluation (1981), Developmental Evaluation (2010), and Principles-Focused Evaluation (2017). Patton argued that using creative approaches throughout the evaluation process increases utilization. Creative Evaluation and Engagement brings these ideas together, while also proposing that 1) evaluators are one of the most influential ingredients in an evaluation, 2) a more just and equitable world will only occur through collaboration and a commitment to shared learning, and 3) this work is hard and we need to take care of ourselves and each other. This workshop will explore the roots of CE&E, introduce essential elements, and share how you can learn more about CE&E.

This workshop specifically addresses the following AEA Evaluator Competencies:

• Competency 1.1: Acts ethically through evaluation practice that demonstrates integrity and respects people from different cultural backgrounds and indigenous groups.
• Competency 3.8: Promotes evaluation use and influence in context.

Creative Evaluation and Engagement is designed specifically to approach learning in a way that disrupts our tendencies to privilege the dominant professional culture in the United States, instead rooting the learning process in what’s meaningful, credible, and relevant to the people most impacted by the evaluation.

Presenters:

Nora Murphy Johnson, Ph.D., is the President of Inspire to Change. She holds a PhD in Evaluation Studies from the University of Minnesota. Nora believes that all systems of people and institutions are connected and that all parts of the system need to be strong and healthy. Nora encourages clients and stakeholders to think outside of our boxes and disciplines and create a coherent shared vision for something greater than what exists now. Evaluation can be an integral part of working towards this vision.

A. Rafael Johnson, M.F.A., is the Vice-President of Inspire to Change, where he uses the methodologies of the arts to understand systems, organizations, and programs. His fiction and essays have appeared in Callaloo, Kweli Journal, African American Review, and Excavating Honesty: An Anthology of Rage and Hope in America. Andy is an adjunct faculty member at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where he currently teaches Creative Analytics with Nora Murphy Johnson. Andy holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Alabama and is a fellow at Kimbilio Fiction.