Context:

Pathways To Equity is a design leadership program that pairs teams of young professionals with community organizations to work on local initiatives. Since 2020, Pathways To Equity has been working with an environmental justice organization to establish a Community Benefits Agreement that would hold developers responsible for local investments. The project has been successful and Pathways to Equity is now closely examining what can be learned from this process for future efforts.

Process:

Working closely with the leadership team, I developed a proposal for qualitative research and program evaluation that would map the ecosystem of relationships and actions that led to the creation of the CBA. Through gathering project data, interviewing participants, and examining critical steps taken to advance the initiative, this program evaluation will help P2E leadership better understand how they can grow this program in the near future.

Outcomes:

All information was synthesized into a final report that was shared with P2E leadership, community partners, and program participants for feedback and input. Final edits were incorporated, and the program evaluation was utilized by P2E leadership in strategic planning sessions that have since shaped the program’s design and process.