The Blind Men and the Elephant: Learning a Little at a Time About Civic Engagement

Abstract

• This article, written from the perspective of the evaluator, describes what happened in one community in which four noncollaborating funders were supporting community development programs. • The Treeline Collaborative evolved from grassroots origins to become a leading organization in the community, serving as a one-stop shop for many programs and providing a structure for civic engagement of residents. • A collaborative evaluation would have enabled a deeper understanding of the Treeline Collaborative, the outcomes it attained and missed, and the multiple roles it plays in the community, perhaps leading to more effective program and funding decisions. Though each was partly in the right and all were in the wrong.