Missing in Action: Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Evaluation of Comprehensive Community Initiatives

Comprehensive community initiatives (CCIs) coordinate social and structural change across multiple community sectors and represent promising approaches to complex social problems. Nowhere is this more relevant than for Indigenous children and families. However, strategies to evaluate initiatives to enhance Indigenous well-being must be meaningful to Indigenous communities. A review of literature regarding evaluation of CCIs identified various principles, case studies, methodologies, and methods grounded in Western ways of knowing and approaches to research. Research that engages with Indigenous led comprehensive community initiatives is needed to enhance evaluation practices for CCIs that enables resurgence of Indigenous traditions and worldviews.

Embedded Foundations

A growing subset of hometown and place-based foundations in the United States have adopted an embedded philanthropic approach, in which funders “dig in” and “dig deeper” into the life of communities. Embedded philanthropy and embedded funders may change the landscape of community-building efforts in significant ways. This article discusses the history of U.S. foundations, their involvement in community development, and the emergence of comprehensive community initiatives. This entry also describes the distinction between embedded funding approaches and other conventional efforts. These include the use of a “bottom up” approach to social change, a focus on helping communities to build capacity, and the building of community assets. Case studies of select embedded foundation efforts will be presented to illustrate current methods, challenges, and implications for future work. This entry will also discuss a few of the new roles foundations play in order to achieve their objectives. As this approach continues to evolve and more evaluations take place, greater understanding will develop regarding the way forward for foundations in the United States.