Empowering Communities: A Conversation with Dr. David Fetterman

David Fetterman

On this episode of Community Possibilities, I speak with Dr. David Fetterman about empowerment evaluation (and influences since childhood including growing up in a synagogue with Holocaust survivors). We had a great time sharing stories, from working to eliminate tuberculosis in India (USAID funded) to fighting for food justice in the US with Feeding America. Fundamentally, we talked about the power of communities to help themselves in rich and meaningful ways.

We talked about:

• What happens with communties own thier own change process.

• How he came up with the concept of Empowerment Evaluation and that pushback from others in the evaluator community.

• The three-step approach to Empowerment Evaluation.

• The range of obstacles communities face when creating change and how participatory evaluation can help.

• What communities can and can't do.

• We must listen to the ideas and voices we do not want to hear. In the case of members of our communities, some people maybe believe different things and would rather go different directions, and we must hear them as well.

• The project he is most proud of.

Just wait to you hear the community possibilities he sees

If you want to join us, listen here. Enjoy!