16: Social Justice Evaluation with Dr. Aisha Rios

This week I chat with Dr. Aisha Rios to both get to know her a little better and to talk about social justice in evaluation. Topics & Resources Mentioned: Getting to know Dr. Rios and Coactive Change a little better What is social justice in evaluation? Emergent strategy as guiding Dr. Rios in framing social justice evaluation as about imagining different futures Abolition literature as another influence for Dr. Rios Studying up vs studying down: "Up the anthropologist-Perspectives gained from studying up" by Laura Nader AEA session “Illuminating the future context through an equity lens: Why systems evaluators need to use foresight and futures” by Dr. Jen Heeg and Dr. Jewlya Lynn AEA session “Evaluation as restorative practice: Exploring how collaborative and participatory methods can promote peace, justice, and healing in Guatemala” by Erica Henderson and Giovanni Dazzo Importance of building community and doing this work in relation Breathwork with Libby Smith Characteristics of white supremacy culture How to create, cultivate, and protect space for reflection Addressing the inadequate budget and time in proposals for appropriate diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice work Finding social justice evaluation work Thinking thoughtfully of evaluation questions and being flexible about the evaluation questions throughout the evaluation process Approaches, methods, and reporting in social justice evaluation Navigating a capitalistic society as a socialist: ownership, authorship, contracts, money, and more Contact: Dr. Aisha Rios: Coactive Change & Twitter @AishaRios17 EvaluLand: Website & Twitter (@EvaluLand) About Dr. Rios: "My name is Aisha Rios. I founded Coactive Change in early 2020 after working for several years as an external evaluator with consulting firms functioning at the federal, state, and local levels. My passion for social change and justice permeates my participatory and collaborative approach to working with partners, and these values ground my belief in the power of evaluation as a means to facilitate learning and change. I have engaged in grassroots organizing and community building that focused on issues ranging from the exploitation of adjuncts who are overworked and underpaid, and most recently the abolition of the prison industrial complex. The work I am most proud of has centered on dismantling structural violence by way of social movement and community organizing, both directly and in supporting other change agents." Music by Matt Ingelson, http://www.mattingelsonmusic.com/