Redefining Aboriginal Evaluation

How could/should/would North American Aboriginal evaluation approaches look? A minimal answer is that they should respect the unique ways of knowing of Aboriginal peoples and primarily use culturally established ways of communicating. A complete answer has yet to be fully conceptualized, but it would include understandings of the complex social structures, the almost unlimited variations in cultures among Aboriginal peoples within a context of the similarities, and understanding when western assumptions are barriers to the task.

Johnston Research Inc. is a forerunner in utilizing new technology and media to develop culture-based evaluation tools that can properly assess and improve culture-based social programming. Our latest releases include the Waawiyeyaa Evaluation Tool — that uses a video that shows program providers and participants how they can use the tool to document their stories; and an electronic survey tool that uses an easy question builder to launch a survey that will be instantly integrated into a database using the Internet. These and our other approaches are listed below.