Specifications include, but are not limited to: The successful Proposer(s) must be able to plan, organize and engage partners, maintain communication between partners, coordinate the project, negotiate competing priorities among partners, and situate the goals of individual projects with the larger evaluation strategies in HPCDP and PHD. The successful Proposer(s) will also have the capacity to lead grant funded evaluation needs, including writing evaluation plans, conducting evaluations, and reporting evaluation results according to CDC standards. Additionally, successful Proposer(s) will be proficient and experienced in culturally competent and community centered evaluation practice where appropriate. This may include but is not limited to the following: 1. Prioritizes community engagement, relationship building and trust with local community. Evaluation practice centering community priorities and relationships. Works to gain community members’ trust. Understands the importance of engaging community as partners for specific project. Actively works to establish a partnership built upon active listening, knowledge sharing, co-learning, and appreciative inquiry. 2. Fosters a safe space for feedback and provides clarity about shared decisionmaking. Successful Proposers will work to flatten power hierarchies, so community members feel comfortable stepping into the role of evaluation partners and making decisions. 3. Builds relationships to share ownership and decision-making among a diverse set of community partners, particularly program participants, at the beginning and throughout the project. Relationship building involves working through networks with long-established community relationships. It is also critical to ensure that partners bring the community’s diverse experiences and perspectives to the table. 4. Establishes expectations for sharing information and products with all evaluation partners. Ensures that everyone involved in creating products has a common understanding of why engagement is important. Offers training and accessible information sharing for partners that are less familiar with evaluation methods. 5. Sets initial goals and priorities for community engagement and establish a process to update those goals and priorities as community partner feedback and conditions on the ground evolve.
