Evaluation Series | Participatory Evaluation
Possible Tools
The types of tools used during the course of a Participatory Evaluation will vary. Ideally an evaluation should use a mix of tools in order to collect qualitative and quantitative information.
What is important however, is not the tools that are used, but the space that is created for open and honest sharing of the impact of the intervention on people's lives. Indeed, for a process to be participatory, it may not employ any participatory tools, it may simply rely on honest discussion.
Commonly used participatory techniques:
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Timelines: often used to frame a discussion about what happened when, why. Can provoke a discussion on what different stakeholders perceive as significant.
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Maps: often used to show location and types of changes in the area
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Venn diagrams: show changing relationships and power relations between groups, institutions and individuals
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Flow diagrams: often used to show direct and indirect impacts or changes and relate these to causes
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Photographs: to depict changes through a sequence of images
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Matrix scoring or ranking: to compare different groups preferences for a set of options or outcomes
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Oral histories and oral testimonies: to track changes over time form the perspectives of individuals or key resource people (church leaders, village heads, teachers, elders etc).
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Network diagrams: to how changes in the type and degree of contact between people and services.
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Participatory video or photography: used to capture on film how people see and interpret what has happened in their lives and their communities.
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Direct observation: Direct observation (particularly when accompanies by good listening skills is a very powerful tool.
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Theatre or role-play: often used as a tool to facilitate different groups to tell their own stories in their own ways. Can provoke interesting discussion with a wider audience of different stakeholders.