Evaluation

Highlighting the benefits and impact of a participatory approach

Evaluation involves making a judgment about the value of an action. Assessing a public participation process is both a scientific and political exercise. But who should make the judgment and according to what criteria?

Lisode advocates for an approach by and for the actors. We primarily rely on qualitative methods to elucidate participants’ perceptions of the public participation process they were involved in.

We offer 2 types of approaches:

Evaluation of the quality of public participation (see our conditions for a successful participatory process), aimed at verifying adherence to a number of necessary—though not sufficient—criteria for the participation to have a positive impact. This approach is inspired by our experience and the literature.
Evaluation of the impact of a multi-actor project. This reflective approach is suited for complex projects where “success” depends on numerous factors and actors. It is inspired by contribution analysis.