Developmental evaluation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Practice-based learnings from projects in British Columbia,...

Area of Science:

• Program Evaluation
• Public Health
• Social Sciences

Background:

• Implementing Developmental Evaluations (DE) presents unique challenges, particularly in dynamic environments.
• The COVID-19 pandemic introduced unprecedented complexities to evaluation projects in British Columbia, Canada.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore experiences and learnings from adapting to challenges in three Developmental Evaluations (DE).
• To describe adaptations made across the DE life cycle in response to the COVID-19 pandemic context.

Main Methods:

• Situating DE projects within a defined DE life cycle approach.
• Describing challenges and adaptations in foundational and data-related phases of DE.
• Leveraging online channels, non-traditional evaluator roles, and proxy data collection.

Main Results:

• Challenges in relationship building, context assessment, and continuous learning were addressed by enhancing online communication and stakeholder engagement.
• Adaptations for mapping project rationale, data collection, and intervention involved online workshops and knowledge sharing within the evaluation team.
• Suboptimal evaluator embeddedness was mitigated through flexible and context-aware strategies.

Conclusions:

• Evaluators must be flexible and leverage contextual knowledge during evolving crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Purposeful reflection and knowledge sharing are crucial for optimizing Developmental Evaluations.
• Adapting to challenges requires embracing non-traditional roles and innovative methodological approaches.