Context is Everything in the Evaluation of Community-Based Programs

Community-based programs involve participants whose perspectives are shaped by the social and geographical context in which they operate. Evaluations of these programs should capture this context and incorporate the diverse perspectives of participants in data collection and findings. This is demonstrated in an evaluation of a community-based disaster resilience program in New South Wales, Australia, in which six community case studies were developed from geo-social statistics, site visit observations and in-depth interviews with key community informants. The evaluation used the case studies to identify commonalities and differences in how the program was understood by participants in different communities and by external stakeholders to the program. The findings showed how context informs a more comprehensive understanding of a community-based program’s impact and how this may vary according to the context. This evaluation reinforces the relevance of Realist Evaluation principles which emphasise the importance of context in evaluating programs.