As demands increase for interventions to address equity and social justice, evaluators play a crucial role in assessing and documenting how effectively these issues are being tackled. However, systematic tools and approaches for integrating equity and social justice in evaluation practice remain underutilized or misunderstood. This course equips evaluators with both the theoretical foundation and practical tools to assess and evaluate equity and social justice in diverse contexts and at different phases of interventions.

Participants will:

Deepen their understanding of the complex but essential topics of equity and social justice within the field of evaluation.

Gain practical, concrete tools to address these issues in their work systematically.

Learn how to apply an equity and social justice lens throughout the evaluation process, from design to execution, reporting, and action.

This course is designed for evaluators and implementers working at the intersection of evaluation and social justice who want to strengthen their ability to assess and integrate equity and social justice considerations.

Classes will take place online via Zoom and will be delivered in two virtual, instructor-led modules. Participants who complete the course will receive a certificate of completion.

We hope to see you online soon! Please contact us with any questions at learningcenter@encompassworld.com.

Module 1: Equity and Social Justice in Evaluation Theory
September 16, 9 a.m.–12 p.m. EDT

Participants will learn about the theoretical underpinnings and conceptual frameworks that inform equity and social justice in the evaluation field. Key topics include:

• Defining “equity” and “social justice” in the context of evaluation.
• Differentiating equity and social justice from related concepts like equality, inclusion, participation, and empowerment.
• Exploring evaluation paradigms and theories prioritizing equity and social justice (e.g., transformative evaluation, decolonizing evaluation, and culturally responsive evaluation).
• Understanding systemic barriers to justice and how to assess whether interventions are addressing these effectively.

Module 2: Equity and Social Justice in Evaluation Practice
September 18, 9 a.m.–12 p.m. EDT

This module focuses on applying theory to practice, offering tools and methodologies to assess equity and social justice in real-world settings. Participants will learn:

• Integrating equity-focused tools, such as the Social Equity Assessment Tool (SEAT) or the Equitable Evaluation Framework, into their evaluations.
• Including marginalized voices and addressing systemic barriers at all stages of evaluation.
• Applying practical examples and case studies of equity-focused evaluations in different sectors and contexts.
• Utilizing methods to ensure that evaluation results lead to actionable, equity-oriented recommendations.