More Than Data: What I Learned About Being an Evaluator
Throughout this course, I have significantly expanded my understanding of evaluation, both in technical skills and in my perspective on the evaluator's role. In my self-assessment, I currently rate myself a 4 out of 6 on the evaluator competency scale. I no longer consider myself a beginner; however, I recognize that I am still gaining depth, efficiency, and confidence that come with more real-world experience. I have a solid foundation in evaluation design, data interpretation, and reporting, but I am still learning to apply these skills smoothly across different contexts and stakeholder needs. One important conclusion from my self-assessment is that evaluation involves much more than just analyzing data. At the beginning of the course, I thought of evaluation as mainly a technical process, involving data collection, analysis, and results presentation. Now, I see that evaluation is closely linked to decision-making, communication, and stakeholder...