Evaluating projects in multifaceted and marginalised communities: The need for mixed approaches

This article examines the evaluation process and approach undertaken for a recent 3-year Integrated Justice Practice project. Three key approaches underpinned the evaluation framework or program logic: participatory evaluation, action research, and continuous reflective practice. The project involved an evaluation of community agencies working in complex settings, within a human service delivery context. The mix of processes encouraged these agencies to own the evaluation through providing clarity and grounded information about what works, how, and what does not work and why, so as to improve both service delivery and community understanding, and to affect policy and funding settings. The discussion is situated within several theories of ‘participatory evaluation’ – meaning that the views of service receivers and providers were included both in the research and in its design. These perspectives were essential because input from young people about how legal services support them, and from providers about the policies services adopt is rare. The services and their partners reported that the evaluation process had been ‘transformative’, with each identifying changes in practice. It’s also edifying for the evaluators, revealing that cultural competency, trust, respect and safety are critical elements when engaging with young people with unresolved legal issues, including family violence.