Participatory approaches evaluating Active Learning for Active Citizenship (ALAC)

ALAC was based upon a community development approach. Given ALAC's participatory principles the evaluation was designed to be similarly participatory. Together with the hubs the aim was to share critically reflexive self-evaluations, developing shared learning on an on-going basis. There was, of course, regular monitoring, documenting the outcomes for the 270 participants involved. But the key challenges were to reflect upon the wider impacts upon individuals and families, in terms of their empowerment, together with their impact in turn, as active citizens participating in service planning and delivery issues. Most importantly, the evaluation process involved the use of participative tools to reflect upon ALAC's impact, in terms of the promotion of community cohesion and social solidarity, within and between communities, linking the local with the global within an overall framework of values emphasising equalities and the pursuit of social justice.