“If you don’t know where to start…” Breanne Prefontaine is building an evaluation workbook for science engagers

One of the most persistent challenges I encounter across the civic science landscape is evaluation. Whether I am speaking with scientists, museums, universities, or nonprofit organizations, the same questions arise: How do we know if public engagement is making a difference? What should we measure? And how do we move beyond simply reporting attendance numbers?

After learning about Breanne Prefontaine’s evaluation workbook project during a webinar featuring three civic science recipients of Research!America’s inaugural Public Engagement Content Awards, I wanted to dig way deeper into one response to this challenge. Prefontaine is developing a practical evaluation workbook designed to help practitioners build evaluation into their programs from the beginning rather than treating it as an afterthought. The workbook guides users through defining program goals, developing evaluation questions, selecting appropriate data collection methods, interpreting findings, and using evidence to improve future programs and strengthen grant proposals. As she explains, “My goal… is that people start thinking about evaluation in the planning phase of events.”

Our conversation on Questions of the Day also explores how thinking about evaluation is evolving. Rather than asking only how many people participated, practitioners are increasingly asking how programs affect participants and whether different communities experience those impacts differently. Prefontaine argues that evaluation should deliberately consider whose voices are represented in the evidence being collected: “What voices are being heard in that data? Are we talking to everyone that is going to be impacted by this program, or are we only hearing a couple of voices?”

At the same time, the workbook is not presented as a complete solution. Prefontaine acknowledges that evaluation remains complex, that no single resource can address every type of civic science activity, and that the workbook intentionally focuses on helping practitioners get started rather than providing an exhaustive guide. She hopes to refine future versions through workshops, user testing, and practitioner feedback, reflecting an iterative approach to capacity building.

More broadly, this conversation raises a question that extends beyond any single workbook: What would it take to make high-quality evaluation a routine part of civic science practice rather than a specialized skill available only to organizations with dedicated evaluation expertise? As funders routinely ask for plans of documenting the impact, practical resources like this workbook may help lower the barrier for practitioners while also contributing to a stronger evidence base for the field as a whole.

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Fanuel Muindi

Fanuel Muindi is a former neuroscientist turned civic science ethnographer. He is a professor of the practice in the Department of Communication Studies within the College of Arts, Media, and Design at Northeastern University, where he leads the Civic Science Media Lab. Dr. Muindi received his Bachelor’s degree in Biology and PhD in Organismal Biology from Morehouse College and Stanford University, respectively. He completed his postdoctoral training at MIT.