Engage stakeholders in program evaluation: Throw them a party!

Abstract

A data party is an engaging way to involve stakeholders in program evaluation. We explain the use of a data party for engaging 4-H program stakeholders (e.g., staff and volunteers) in data interpretation and helping them understand, embrace, and use program evaluation information to make data-driven decisions about their programs. We present two tools that can be used for presenting data in a clear and meaningful way: data place mats and gallery walks. We also provide information on the process we used, our lessons learned, and the utility of data parties in Extension programming.