Collaborative Evaluation in Action: Sharing Leadership to Expand Access to Healthy Food for Families and Children in Denver, CO

Shared leadership in programmatic evaluation can promote community growth, learning, and innovation. This session will share our experience as the external evaluator for the Healthy Food for Denver’s Kids initiative (HFDK), a program established through a 2018 ballot measure to enhance access to healthy food and food-based education for children and families across Denver, CO. Administered by the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE), HFDK supports nonprofits and public agencies addressing food insecurity. As the evaluator, CAI leads a collaborative mixed-methods evaluation using multi-level strategies to measure HFDK’s impact. We foster shared leadership among grantees, DDPHE, and community members by: Establishing Responsive Feedback Loops: Real-time data review drives adaptive technical assistance. Engaging a Variety of Stakeholders: Appointed commissioners, committees, and agency representatives collaborate and refine the evaluation, balancing community needs with funding and policy considerations. Driving Measurable Outcomes: stakeholder input enhances evaluation rigor ensuring sustainable and meaningful progress.
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Libby Christensen – Colorado State University; Alice Douglas – CAI (Cicatelli Associates Inc.); Jodi Scharf – CAI (Cicatelli Associates Inc.); Lindsay Senter – CAI (Cicatelli Associates Inc.); Young Mi Cho – CAI (Cicatelli Associates Inc.)