Evaluation Capacity Building: Experiential Learning Through Community–University Collaboratives

Abstract

There is a growing need for evaluation capacity building (ECB) in community organizations; however, learning opportunities for both organizations and post-secondary students are limited, particularly opportunities to apply evaluation concepts in practice. This practice note describes four initiatives and highlights the ways in which experiential learning can be leveraged through community-university collaborations to provide responsive, hands-on ECB for both students and community organizations. The authors discuss the unique contributions of these initiatives and considerations for designing and implementing similar initiatives.