Utilization Focused Evaluation Case Studies: UFE in Multijurisdictional/Tribal Contexts

1. Utilization Focused Evaluation Case Studies: UFE in Multijurisdictional/Tribal Contexts Session 757 – Room 211 C/D – 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM Presenter: Nicole Bowman (Munsee/Mohican) President, Bowman Performance Consulting

2. UFE’s Practical Application in Indian Country…..

3. UFE: It’s not just about the flowchart….. Or the checklists…..

4. …..or the Pretty Faces of those of us who use it….. BTW--ELDER? That is a good thing in my community…

5. UFE is so much more! • Process • Relationships • Analogies • Stories • Responsive • Responsible • Meaningful • Useful • Complex • Nuanced • Integrated • And so on….. • Niiallagomahteet (all my relations; all things are related) • WunjiinDaaptoonaakanumNiiloona (stories of our local history, usefulness, and relevance to community) • Wiciwinknewuk (four sacred directions, four sacred teachings, medicine wheel) • UFE has both traditional and contemporary connections

6. Responsibility & Relations • UN Declaration of Indigenous Rights encourages States to comply with and effectively implement all their obligations as they apply to indigenous peoples under international instruments, in particular those related to human rights, in consultation and cooperation with the peoples concerned • Emphasizing that the United Nations has an important • and continuing role to play in promoting and protecting • the rights of indigenous peoples • How does the UN Declaration inform my work and the choices I use for evaluation design and related activities? • Remember the 4 R’s in Indian Country: Respect, Relationships, Reciprocity, Responsibility – UFE allows evaluators to incorporate all of these constructs

7. UN Declaration of Indigenous Rights Facts: • Adopted by UN in 9/2007 • 144 nations voted in favor • 11 abstentions • 4 nations voted against • Guess who they were? • All 4 nations eventually adopted the Declaration • Guess who was last? • Guess what year it was finally adopted by this nation? • Why does this matter???

8. Grounding Indigenous Evaluation • The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: • Pulls aside scales of blindness that a culture of inequity has bred • Provides that its recitation of fundamental rights “constitute the • minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of the • Indigenous Peoples of the world.” • The Declaration’s preamble echoes the Universal Declaration of • Human Rights in proclaiming it “as a standard of achievement • to be pursued in a spirit of partnership and respect.” • Obliges all governments to examine how they will come to • evolve systems that recognize and embrace the “minimum • standards” set forth in the Declaration • 46 articles with subsections are in UN Declaration • Articles 31 & 32 are the foundation for Indigenous knowledge & • intellectual property rights protections • Robinson, 2010. “Minimum Standards: The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People” • UN Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Website: http://social.un.org/index/IndigenousPeoples/DeclarationontheRightsofIndigenousPeoples.aspx

9. UN Indigenous Declaration: Selections from Article 31 • ….Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as the manifestations of their sciences, technologies and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literatures, designs, sports and traditional games and visual and performing arts. • …..They also have the right to maintain, control, protect and developtheir intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional • cultural expressions.

10. UN Indigenous Declaration: Selections from Article 32 • …States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources. • …States shall provide effective mechanisms for just and fair redress for any such activities, and appropriate measures shall be taken to mitigate adverse environmental, economic, social, cultural or spiritual impact. • UFE has been an effective mechanism in Indian Country….

11. But remember meanings, perceptions and feelings that came before & extend beyond the UN policy document

12. The Case • 5 year federally funded project at over $5,000,000 • Partnership between a state university & Tribal college • Education & STEM workforce development focus • Major grant activities/purposes: • Professional development for K-12 STEM teachers through summer academies, academic year trainings, and research internships with university faculty • K-12 curriculum development in eco-diversity, bio-energy, and sustainability aligned to cultural, contextual, and workforce needs • Curricular and professional development incorporation of private sector, traditional community, and public/tribal schools • Student activities for STEM career interest, engaging/relevant STEM curriculum and school experience, and after school clubs or internships in STEM • Synergistic and collaborative K-16+ activities designed to strengthen systems supporting STEM education

13. UFE Steps 1-4 in Indigenous Context

14. UFE Steps 5-8 in Indigenous Context

15. UFE Steps 9-12 in Indigenous Context

16. UFE Steps 13-16 in Indigenous Context

17. UFE Step 17: Meta-evaluation of Use UFE Step 17: Meta-evaluation of Use • Accountability • Learning • Improvements • Accountability in many forms: • Participants • Community • PI Team • Partners • Funding Agency • Evaluation Agency (BPC) for project, time, budget management and cultural, contextual, professional standards • Next 7 generations…….

18. UFE Step 17: Meta-evaluation of Use, con’t. • Traditional vs. contemporary uses and impacts for Indigenous participants—delicatebalance • Reflective practice for what the evaluation did well and what didn’t go as planned • Analyze what evaluation has control over and negotiate the rest with others • Set evaluation priorities and recommendations for coming year • Monthly monitoring (self) of improvements and quarterly with PI team

19. Indigenous evaluation requires walking and working between/across the worlds (multiple & dynamic contexts) UFE is a framework, process, and tool that helps us make this a more honorable walk…

20. Use Strengths / Asset Based Approaches

21. Much diversity exists within Indigenous communities….. Contextual Indigenous Diversity Cultural/ Linguistic Family/ Individual Socio-economic

22. Concluding Thoughts…. • Create a shared space that is negotiated and respectful • Linda’s story of “the scientists felt vulnerable because their knowledge wasn’t being acknowledged…” • UFE says cultural competence is interwoven with our work; everyone brings culture to the project so address it • Make evaluation work responsive to local needs and useful for the next 7 generations • UFE’s design and use of meta-evaluation in Indigenous contexts helps create evaluation work that is helpful in the present as well as builds capacity for the future • Nii allogomahteet and laapi uchkneewal • Relationships are built and sustained with trust, recognition/value of each other, and authenticity • Leave good “moccasin tracks” during and after the project

23. ADD TEXT HERE I hope my Indigenous perspectives on UFE support your evaluation journey…

24. Anushiik & Laapi uch Keneewal! Future Contact: Nicole Bowman (Mohican/Munsee) E-Mail: nicky@bpcwi.com Phone: 715-526-9240 URL: www.bpcwi.com

25. www.bpcwi.com