Case Study in Evaluating Long-Term Systems Change
In 2014, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s Children, Families, and Communities (CFC) team launched the Starting Smart and Strong Initiative (S3I) a 10-year, place-based initiative focused on enhancing early childhood development in Oakland, Fresno, and San Jose, California.
Recognizing the complexity of this initiative, the Foundation partnered with Engage R+D for a developmental evaluation, incorporating the Equitable Evaluation Framework™ (EEF) to embed equity in the evaluation approach.
This case study tells the story of the S3I evaluation, starting with what CFC and its partners were seeking when they initially embarked on this effort, how the evaluation evolved in response to equity considerations, and lessons learned for others engaged in long-term, systems change work. It aims to offer practical insights and strategies about what it takes for foundations and evaluators to embrace and support community-led change more fully in their work together.
