query: evaluation for community groups

[colist at comm-org.utoledo.edu]

[ed:  please feel welcomed to copy COMM-ORG with responses to Amy's 
query. A bit from me below.]

From: Amy Hubbard <amyshubbard at yahoo.com>

Hi everyone,
I'm doing a workshop on evaluation for community
groups at the National Conference on Organized
Resistence in February.  I'll be drawing on both my
activist and evaluation/research background to lead a
discussion about why evaluation might be worthwhile,
why it's hard to do when so many other things need
doing as well, and some practical ways to approach it.
 

I have my own ideas about what to emphasize but it
occurred to me that there are probably some useful
materials out there that I can share with people at
the workshop. Does anyone on the list have any
suggestions?  This conference draws heavily from the
anarchist community but I'd welcome materials from all
kinds of community-based organizations.

My goal is to get folks thinking strategically, e.g.,
we know the goal is to achieve economic justice but  
how do we figure out intermediate and short-term goals
and what evidence do we have that we've reached them
and how do you do all this when you're already
overburdened with other things, whether it's related
to activism, such as putting up posters, or just
general life issues, like, say you need to hem your
kid's black pants for the school play after work and
then make sure she does her homework and then read her
a bed-time story?  (ahem, sorry, got a little carried
away there.)

I'm especially interested in how people can do this
effectively when they don't have paid staff and they
have many other tasks demanding their attention that
seem more pressing.  Any thoughts?
 
Thanks for your help,
Amy Hubbard

***********************

[ed:  a 2004 COMM-ORG paper by Margo Menconi, "Bringing Evaluation to 
the Grassroots: Insights Gleaned from Studying the Mobilization for 
Global Justice," may help.