Table 1.

Principles of Empowerment Evaluation

Principle	Description
Improvement	EE improves program performance through helping initiatives expand on their successes and review and revise areas that need more attention.
Community Ownership	EE facilitates community ownership, which maintains use and sustainability of initiatives.
Inclusion	EE includes diversity, participation, and involvement from all levels of an initiative.
Democratic Participation	EE promotes decision making that is transparent and just.
Social Justice	EE devotes itself to focusing on social inequalities.
Community Knowledge	EE recognizes and appreciates community knowledge.
Evidence-Based Strategies	EE recognizes and uses scholarly knowledge in addition to community knowledge.
Capacity Building	EE reinforces stakeholders’ ability to evaluate their programs and to strengthen program planning and implementation.
Organizational Learning	EE allows organizations to learn how to improve themselves from their own successes and mistakes; data is also used to assess new practices and influence decision making when implementing programs.
Accountability	EE operates within existing policies and measures of accountability; empowerment evaluation also focuses on whether or not the initiative accomplished its goals.