Learning Circles as a Tool for Participant-Owned Evaluation

Participants in learning circles meet regularly to learn from each other about a self-identified topic. Honoring a group’s collective wisdom, centering participants’ learning needs, and prioritizing relationships and trust are all features of learning circles, which align with the Equitable Evaluation Framework(TM) (EEF) principles. We explored learning circles as a tool for participant ownership in the preliminary stages of an evaluation project with the Kansas Health Foundation’s Integrated Voter Engagement Initiative. Former project lead Virginia Roncaglione writes about the experience and lessons learned in a new article in the Equitable Evaluation Framework edition of the Foundation Review. Written in partnership with the Kansas Health Foundation and another of their strategic learning partners, Harder+Company Community Research, the article shares the authors’ individual experiences and collective reflections on being in the EEF practice, striving to shift ownership of the evaluation from foundations to participants.