“Holding Relationships at the Center of Culturally Responsive and Equitable Evaluation” is written by a team of evaluators and practitioners from Engage R+D, Informing Change, and Expanding the Bench®, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Expanding the Bench® is an initiative dedicated to diversifying the field of evaluation and promoting culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE) approaches. The piece reflects on attendees’ responses to an interactive prompt at Expanding the Bench ®’s annual celebration event during the Evaluation 2024 conference in Portland, Oregon. Throughout the night, attendees had the opportunity to add to our interactive prompt wall to share notes, reactions, and drawings. In reflection of these responses, the theme is clear: the relationships cultivated in this field are not just collegial but key to supporting equitable approaches to evaluation and learning. This piece shares three insights from the activity that demonstrate why relationships and collaboration are at the heart of equitable approaches to evaluation and learning, and how we can continue working together to strengthen our field.

This publication was prepared by:

• Meghan Hunt, Engage R+D
• Omar Alcover-Firpi, Informing Change
• Angel Villalobos, Expanding the Bench®
• Nancy Vang, Expanding the Bench®
• Neda Moussapour, Expanding the Bench®
• Maryam Khojatesh, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation