How to fall into evaluation – a cartoon post.

This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at freshspectrum.com.

So what does it mean to “fall into evaluation?”

That’s today’s cartoon post inspiration from Ann Price via Twitter.

@clysy Hey Chris, have you created a cartoon for the often used phrase, “I just kind of fell into evaluation?”

— Ann Price (she, her, hers) (@annwprice) January 21, 2022

There are lots of social scientists working as evaluators.

Unless you’re in academia it’s hard to be something like a Sociologist professionally. Practical fields like program evaluation and contract research offer a good career path for social science grads.

Fresh Spectrum Cartoon by Chris Lysy. One person talking to another, "So yea, I went to school for social science, and, yada, yada, yada, now I'm a program evaluator."

Professional Sidetracker

If you ask the right question at the right time, you can totally sidetrack a meeting. But if it’s a critical question, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

Fresh Spectrum Cartoon by Chris Lysy.
Three people at a table.
Person 1 says, "Amara, you keep sidetracking our meetings with important but hard to answer questions. Have you ever considered becoming an evaluator?"
Person 2 just stare at person 3.
Person 3 responds, "That's a job?"

The tools make the evaluator.

I see a lot of people with certain skillsets get funneled into evaluation or quasi-evaluation roles. Especially those who fall into evaluation from specific roles in non-profits or government agencies.

Fresh Spectrum Cartoon by Chris Lysy.
Written across the top, "What it means to "fall into" evaluation."
Person standing but speaking to another person sitting at a desk, "Our grant application requires an evaluation plan. You're good with Excel and Power Point right?"

Sometimes it’s just about filling a need.

People who become evaluators are usually pretty self-aware and good at noticing things other people tend not to see. So sometimes becoming an evaluator is just a response to an existing societal need.

Fresh Spectrum Cartoon by Chris Lysy.
Two people talking.
Person 1, "So you just fell into evaluation?"
Person 2, "I considered starting my own nonprofit. But then I thought, we don't need more nonprofits. We need the one's we have to be more effective."

Falling into evaluation is not without its risks.

Some pursuits and programs just don’t make a ton of rational sense. At least rational sense that we can see and measure.

Fresh Spectrum Cartoon by Chris Lysy.
One person stopping a second person from falling into a hole labeled "Evaluation."
Person 1 says, "Careful! You fall into that and you'll never see our program in the same light again."

Are you an evaluator? How did you fall into evaluation?

Seriously, I want to know. Do any of these cartoons strike a chord? Let me know in the comments.