In 2024, Health Forward Foundation launched a cohort of community organizations across the Kansas City region to provide funding and support their civic engagement and advocacy work to build community power, advance participation in democracy, and achieve healthy communities characterized by racial equity and economically just systems. Our initial desire to co-create impact measures with the cohort shifted after the group indicated they had no interest in developing outcome measures together. Grassroots Solutions, our evaluation partner, quickly pivoted with alternative approaches to participatory evaluation and planning. This session will explore strategies to harness the collective strengths of diverse organizations, fostering their active participation in learning, approaching evaluation with flexibility and informed by what we are learning, and tactics for building an impact mindset. Attendees will discuss adaptive engagement techniques and practical tools to build effective partnerships and evaluation practices with community leaders, nonprofits, and foundations.
