Angèle Bilodeau

Figurative Thinking and Models: Tools for Participatory Evaluation

In sociological terms, an evaluation can be considered as a collective decision to step back, take a second look, and formulate a judgement on a public program. This collective decision is usually borne by a limited number of actors who elaborate their thinking with the advice and support of an evaluator. In the past two decades, major developments in the field of evaluation have emerged through the practice of “participatory evaluation.” This approach requires an expansion of the number of actors beyond the initial proponents and the evaluator so as to expand as much as possible the scope of the reflection. A public program involves many actors, all of whom have interests at stake, some of which are liable to be divergent. When judgements are made without somehow including the diverse stakeholders or their spokespersons, issues concerning the results and their utilization are more likely to surface (Weiss, 1983a). Over the years, evaluators have become increasingly aware

Une évaluation participative confirme la pertinence sociale d’un modèle d’intervention communautaire en réussite scolaire Retombées de la participation pour l’intervention

Cette étude de cas porte sur l’évaluation participative d’une intervention d’accompagnement scolaire à base communautaire dont le but est de favoriser la réussite scolaire en milieux montréalais socio-économiquement défavorisés. L’évaluation a été réalisée en collaboration étroite avec les acteurs de l’intervention. Elle compare les processus et les effets de l’intervention à base communautaire avec les interventions institutionnelles usuelles et montre les attributs innovants de l’intervention à base communautaire et son effet de protection auprès des enfants évoluant dans des conditions psychosociales adverses. Le partage de ces résultats motive la stabilisation du partenariat école—communauté à la base de l’intervention et la récurrence de son financement, et suscite la mobilisation de nouveaux partenariats sociaux.

Understanding the challenges of intersectoral action in public health through a case study of early childhood programmes and services

Abstract After two decades of intersectoral public health action, the literature reports considerable ongoing difficulty in achieving this aim. This article analyses two of the challenges of intersectoral action: (1) ensuring convergence among the interests and resources of sectoral actors, and (2) coordinating the multiplicity of sectoral programmes. A case study employing Actor–Network Theory is used to provide an in-depth understanding of the persistence of these problems. In 2008, the Montreal Directorate of Public Health in the province of Quebec, Canada, implemented a vast consultation and mobilization process to address problems highlighted by the Survey of the School Readiness of Montreal Children. The process mobilized regional and local multi-sectoral actors in order to propose solutions. At the local community level, the process resulted in increased coordination leading to intersectoral innovation, while at the regional level it brought about the deployment of additional resources, albeit in sectoral programmes. This study analyses how intersectoral issues raised by the survey have been addressed so as to produce these results. It discusses how the balance between sectoral interests and the common good, as well as between sector autonomy and interdependence, is central to dealing with these two critical challenges.