Evaluation Perspectives
| Published date | 01 June 2020 |
| Date | 01 June 2020 |
| Author | Jara Dean-Coffey |
| DOI | 10.1177/1035719X20926754 |
| Subject Matter | Evaluation Perspectives |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1035719X20926754
Evaluation Journal of Australasia
2020, Vol. 20(2) 116 –120
© The Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1035719X20926754
journals.sagepub.com/home/evj
Evaluation Perspectives
Jara Dean-Coffey
Jara Dean-Coffey is the founder of the Luminare Group, a
US-based evaluation and strategy consultancy, Director of the
Equitable Evaluation Initiative, and sits on the Board of
Directors of the American Evaluation Association. For the
past twenty-five years, she has partnered with clients and col-
leagues to elevate their collective understanding of the rela-
tionship between values, context, strategy and evaluation and
shifting our practices so that they are more fully in service of
equity. Jara is frequently invited to lead capacity building or
pushing practice sessions on evaluative thinking and strategy
formation for foundations, nonprofits and strategic initiatives
for change. The Equitable Evaluation Initiative is a partner-
ship across philanthropic, non-profit, and consulting communities, working to align
evaluation practices with an equity approach and to use evaluation as a tool for advanc-
ing equity.
How did you become involved in evaluation?
I was introduced to evaluation as part of my Master of Public Health program at UC
Berkeley. I will be honest – I was not immediately enamored. In time, as I moved into
consulting after graduation, I found that I had a natural inclination to work in the space
between evaluation and strategy. I was always curious about how individuals, organi-
zations, networks, and movements make explicit their values and intentions and then
move towards making them manifest. The practice of inquiry and sense-making along
the way to understand what is happening, for whom and how and to what end, seemed
a natural complement to striving to make a difference in the world. Next thing you
know, I was an evaluator.
I see myself as a consultant who has evaluative practice among her toolbox. I also
understand human development, adult learning, organizational development, capacity
building, strategy formation and planning, etc. I thread these together in my practice
in an effort to serve those who are often much closer to community than I am. I want
them to know that evaluative practice can be something that reflects your values and
926754EVJ0010.1177/1035719X20926754Evaluation Journal of Australasia
research-article2020
Evaluation Perspectives
To continue reading
Request your trial