Spotlight on LLC Member: Center for Assessment and Policy Development

This month, we are pleased to shine the spotlight on the exciting work of Sally Leiderman and the Center for Assessment and Policy Development (CAPD).  Sally, who is President and one of CAPD’s founders, has been a staunch supporter, participant, partner and collaborator with LLC on many levels.  Sally contributed a chapter, “From the Inside Out: Evaluating Personal Transformation Leadership Efforts,” in The Handbook of Leadership Development edited by Kelly Hannum, Jennifer W. Martineau, and Claire Reinelt (LLC Research and Evaluation Director).  She has served on LLC’s Board Nominations Committee, Leadership for a New Era Advisory Committee, collaborated on a number of evaluation projects, and participated in many Evaluation Circle convening’s and national meetings (Creating Space), and has been an invaluable resource to LLC.

The Center for Assessment and Policy Development continues to work at the intersection of leadership, structural racism and white privilege and evaluation.  For example, many social justice leaders are asking for help to demonstrate that their work leads to tangible benefits for people of color or other groups they care about.  CAPD has been creating outcomes and indicators based on observable behaviors in some of the areas that are most challenging for evaluation – effective movement building, reduction in structural racism in institutions and systems, and progress towards racial justice.  The outcomes are based on best practice and research, and they are designed to be customized for particular issues like education or economic development.  Leaders can use these to document observable and compelling evidence of progress in their work.  CAPD is also helping them think about how to document a pathway between these results and population changes (theoretically and with data).  CAPD is hoping these tools and thinking will make it easier for people to assess collective leadership and cross-organizational work.