UEval: A New Model of Evaluative Learning

"Evaluation is key to unpacking what
works, why it works, and what is needed
to establish long-lasting change."
UEval: A New Model of Evaluative
Learning
By Shelly Jun & Sennait Yohannes
Community-University Partnership for the Study of Children, Youth, and Families
Last month (June 3-7, 2019) the Evaluation Capacity Network delivered UEval, a one-week evaluation
institute, where community professionals, graduates, and undergraduates came together to learn about
evaluation in the community context. Offered as a course at the Faculty of Extension, and co-instructed by
Dr. Rebecca Gokiert and Dr. Jason Daniels, UEval 2019 was a pilot of an innovative model of teaching and
learning evaluation—experiential, co-creation, and co-learning.
With increasing pressures for community and government programs to demonstrate value and ‘success’ in
meeting funding objectives, the need for evaluation capacity and support is also increasing. UEval was
built to bridge the gap between university and community learning in evaluation, so as to build mutually
beneficial relationships and capacity. Jasmine Brazil (Evaluation and Process Analyst; City of Edmonton), a
community partner who was involved in the development and instruction of UEval, shared:
I always felt like the community and university connection could be so much stronger when it comes
to how we build capacity and share learnings. I feel that the most well-rounded experience you can
have is community-based experience with classroom/practical learning. UEval is a great example of
how we can do this work together.
UEval attempts to bridge this learning gap, by bringing community professionals and university students
together in a shared space to explore evaluation theory through hands-on, interactive, ‘real world’
learning. In the UEval classroom, participants are encouraged to learn from one other, and integrate those
learnings into their personal and professional environments. As Jasmine observed from her facilitator
role:

I noticed a lot of sharing, conversation and learnings happening between those that had community
experience and those that had more graduate course experience. Everyone had the opportunity to
lean on others within the course to expand their perspectives and learn more. Each person in the
class or in the group work brought a different perspective, skills and experience to the table. While
that means there are dynamics to navigate, I think it creates a great opportunity for engagement,
creativity and learning.
‘Real world’ learning was the opportunity for participants to
put theory into practice by developing evaluative responses
to local community-based initiatives. Ranging in topics
related to early childhood, public washrooms, and care of
seniors, these initiatives were submitted as case studies by
local community-based organizations, including: the City of
Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan Families First Society, Early
Childhood Coalitions of Alberta, Campus Food Bank, Brain
Care Centre, Centre for Family Literacy, and Sage Seniors
Association.
With a total of 52 learners from across 7 faculties, 15
disciplines, and 13 community organizations, each case
study team was made up of mixed experiences and skills.
Throughout the week of UEval, learners diligently worked
in these mixed groups to create an evaluation framework
for their assigned case study, developing stakeholder maps,
logic models, data collection plans, and strategies for
sharing evaluation results.
Inspired by an innovative model of co-learning as observed
at Professor Javier Mignone’s Summer Institute at the
University of Manitoba, UEval was designed to s
similarly foster university and community engaged evaluative learning. A Learning Advisory Committee
was brought together to plan the course delivery and curriculum, with members representing 6 university
departments/faculties and 4 community organizations. Using a collaborative community-university
engaged process for course development ensured that the curriculum would be relevant across different
disciplines and sectors.

The Learning
Advisory
Committee
UEval, funded by the University
of Alberta’s Teaching and
Learning Enhancement Fund, is a
collaborative effort between
students and academics across
disciplines at the University of
Alberta and local community
stakeholders. Representation on
this committee highlights the
role of community in co-defining
the evaluation process with the
academy, and included:
Faculty of Extension
Department of Educational
Psychology, Faculty of Education
School of Public Health
Faculty of Pharmacy and
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Community Service-Learning,
Faculty of Arts
Department of Human Ecology,
Faculty of ALES
City of Edmonton
United Way of the Alberta Capital
Region
Edmonton Community Foundation
Canadian Evaluation Society
"I really appreciated the Faculty of Extension’s approach, to
cater to the variety of disciplines with different levels of
exposure to evaluation concepts by including an interactive
online module. I thought it worked well as a baseline
introduction and refresher depending on the audience. This
created somewhat of a level "playing field" for the practical
in-class work, which I thought was fantastic!” (UEval
Student)
The course was launched with a public lecture by
evaluation expert Mark Cabaj (www.here2there.ca) on
June 3, titled “Evaluating Complex Community-Based
Initiatives: Emerging Practices”. Tackling complex
systems interventions, Mark shared his experience on
emerging practices for three challenges related to
evaluating complex community-based initiatives.
Reflections from Mark’s lecture resurfaced throughout
the week during in-class discussions, and an
appreciation for the complexity of community-based
initiatives was evident among UEval learners. To access
resources from the public lecture, visit our events page.
Although classroom sessions have formally ended,
conversations will continue as community learners seek
out UEval peers to now provide further capacity, fill
existing gaps, and co-create initiatives and evaluations.
“Ultimately, I think the more prepared students and
community learners are around the concepts and
importance of evaluation - the stronger we are going to be as
a community. We will be better able to address community
needs, identify gaps and challenges, and partner to meet
those needs. That's really what we are in this for right?
Making people's lives better.” (Jasmine Brazil)
Our learnings from the UEval pilot will support the refinement of this new model of experiential, cocreated,
and co-learning in evaluation education.
Interested in UEval 2020?
Stay connected by joining our network! (https://forms.gle/bHmpVtNzTaPwL95SA)