Measuring Our Progress

The study team conducted a synthesis of completed evaluations funded by RWJF. Evaluations were selected using several inclusion criteria and then summarized. The result was an alignment between the evaluations’ outcomes and the evaluations’ Theories of Change. This set of evaluations served as the pool from which the systems change analysis and the case studies of equitable evaluation practice emerged.

The report acknowledged that RWJF has acted swiftly in the last few years to create systems change to promote greater health equity by dismantling structural racism. True systems change will take time. It will require the participation and perspectives of many people, most of all the communities most affected by the systems.

The report concludes with systems-change advice, including the importance of articulating the Foundation’s vision for change; providing sufficient capacity-building resources and expertise to move levers; identifying and involving champions of health equity efforts; and to reach agreement on clearly articulated measures of success.

Future evaluations should ensure that the evaluation team has expertise in equitable and culturally responsive evaluation practices.

• The evaluations should aim to engage throughout the phases of the evaluation process, if possible.
• Include communities served in a collaborative manner to achieve more equitable evaluation practices.
• Assess the initiative’s outcomes for the population served.