A triumphant glow envelops Waterloo as a team of public health students, Prism Consulting, clinches first place at the esteemed World Evaluation Case Competition. Rising to the occasion, these students from the School of Public Health Sciences, Sarah Sousa, McKenna Szczepanowski, Jiselle Bakker, Thepikaa Varatharajan, and Amanda Demmer, outshone competitors from 14 countries with their exceptional evaluation proposal.
Prism Consulting’s mission was to craft a bespoke evaluation plan for the “Circles of Healing” program under Clean Start Africa. This groundbreaking initiative aims to provide psychological support and aid in the reintegration of women and children affected by imprisonment.
The team’s unique approach, akin to the refraction of light through a prism, guided their evaluation proposal. Triumphing at the Canadian Evaluation Society Student Case Competition paved the way to representing Canada on the global stage. The team noted the distinct challenges of the world’s competition, which focuses on non-westernized programs and contexts, necessitating a monitoring and evaluation lens with culturally appropriate methods and approaches.
For the Circles of Healing case, Prism Consulting proposed an evaluation that delved into how the program’s activities addressed the needs and priorities of imprisoned and formerly imprisoned women in Kenya. Their meticulous plan aimed to assess the effectiveness of these activities, ensuring they aligned with the goal of successful reintegration into society. In Kenya, female offenders constituted 13 percent of the total prison population in 2020.
McKenna Szczepanowski elucidated, “Throughout the proposal, we discuss our understanding of the program and the context within which it operates, what our main goals of the evaluation are, why it is important to evaluate the program, the evaluation design and approach, data collection methods that we will use, how we plan to disseminate our findings, a timeline, and potential challenges we may encounter along with mitigation strategies.”
The evaluation proposal scrutinized the program’s activities comprehensively, focusing on the rights, priorities, and needs of imprisoned and formerly imprisoned women. Additionally, it assessed the implementation of the program within and outside prisons and gauged the progress toward fostering successful reintegration.
The team maintained a positive attitude throughout, recognizing the significance of their efforts within the seven-hour timeframe. The announcement of their victory was met with exhilaration. Amanda Demmer expressed her joy, stating, “It’s likely the only time in my life I’ll be able to say I represented Team Canada and brought home a gold!”
Acknowledging the instrumental guidance of coaches Drs. Jennifer Yessis and Kelly Skinner, along with Dr. Scott Leatherdale, the Ph.D. supervisor for three of the five students, the team emphasized their gratitude for the support received.
Traditionally excelling in national competitions, this victory marks the first time a team from Waterloo competed in and conquered the World Evaluation Case Competition. The competition, which provides students with an opportunity to analyze real-world cases, affords them invaluable hands-on experience in program evaluation, laying a foundation for future careers as evaluation professionals.
