Creating Safer Families by supporting culturally authentic evaluation: Evaluation Framework for Family Violence Prevention

The Kiribati Federation of Aotearoa recognised significant opportunity to strengthen family wellbeing in their community. Research highlighted a need for culturally responsive family support services, as Pacific communities faced disproportionate challenges relating to family wellbeing and child safety compared to the non-Pacific population.

In 2020, the KFA launched a Family Violence Prevention project. The project delivered community workshops and trainer development across multiple locations. After completing two phases, the KFA needed to evaluate the project's effectiveness, demonstrate accountability to funders including MSD, and inform future work. They needed an evaluation approach that would honour Kiribati cultural values while delivering robust insights.

We worked with the KFA to co-design an evaluation plan built around the Kiribati concept of "maroro" (discussion). This facilitates open dialogue embodying Kiribati values of respect, partnership and compassion rather than imposing Western evaluation frameworks. We worked with the KFA to build their internal capacity, and designed several measures to ensure the evaluation was objective.

We also collaborated to develop a visual logic model showing how the project worked through a cultural lens. This framework mapped the journey from inputs to long-term outcomes, helping KFA understand what success looked like at each stage.

Recognising the sensitivity of family violence discussions, we designed data collection tools with careful ethical considerations. Interview guides and surveys respected cultural protocols while gathering meaningful data. We explicitly planned how to include vulnerable groups including women, children, disabled people and remote communities.

The four-phase evaluation plan (design, data collection, analysis, reporting) incorporated multiple validation points. Community validation workshops were designed to give Kiribati communities a voice in interpreting results and shaping recommendations.

Beyond the immediate outputs, the process built KFA's internal evaluation capacity, positioning them to demonstrate the impact of their vital work preventing family violence in Kiribati communities in Aotearoa. 

Our plan delivered tangible benefits for KFA: