The Evaluation Lab trains University of New Mexico (UNM) graduate students through classroom instruction and a practicum in a community organization. The instruction is a core component of UNM’s new Master in Public Policy (MPP) program. MPP students, faculty members, UNM policy center researchers and community staffers form evaluation teams dedicated to embedding evaluation systems in organizations. The teams function as learning communities, where students learn about social justice action and organizations learn about evaluation. Organizations work with the Lab for 3-5 years, during which time they develop their ability to collect and report data for gauging effectiveness and informing program adjustments. The Graduate Training program aims to create a pool of evaluators who embrace a community-directed approach and who reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of New Mexico’s communities, while at the same time helping organizations create feasible and effective evaluation systems.
To build evaluation capacity rooted in the needs of communities, and to facilitate the development of sound state policies around evaluation in New Mexico.
1915 Las Lomas NE