Evaluating a participatory, stigma-busting network!

We are very excited to be sharing with you the results from our third external network evaluation of inroads! 339 inroads members completed an online survey in March 2020, which covered questions related to network connectivity, health, and results. Along with the survey results, 30 members participated in brief interviews at the inroads Global Member Gathering in Mombasa, Kenya in February 2020, and seven members participated in in-depth interviews via Zoom in April 2020. The key findings and recommendations from this evaluation are described below. These findings and recommendations were informed by inroads members, via the survey results as well as the content from the brief and in-depth interviews.

You can download the complete report, in English, French, or Spanish, with the following links:

• English [https://members.endabortionstigma.org/?bkq8ff85]
• French [https://members.endabortionstigma.org/?9wjnfpag] 
• Spanish [https://members.endabortionstigma.org/?hnjb7r4t] 

Summary

This year’s evaluation examined the ways that members use network resources, their comfort with specific topics, and interactions with other network members. In doing that, data emerged which highlighted inroads’ strengths as well as the areas that may be improved.

This year’s evaluation has shown that inroads has continued to grow its network and successfully expand access to resources and connections around abortion stigma globally. We heard loud and clear from inroads members that there is a need for this network among those who do abortion work, as they consistently operate in increasingly difficult and hostile contexts. The work that inroads continues to do is critical to push the movement forward in destigmatizing abortion globally in the face of increasingly challenging circumstances. The impact of inroads’ work also continues to support the people who do abortion work on the ground in communities all over the world.

Key Successes

Among the many positive impacts that inroads has made since the last network evaluation, five key successes stood out. Inroads has accomplished forward movement in the following areas:

Key Recommendations for Programing

While inroads continues to make positive moves forward, based on the data collected from this evaluation, five key recommendations for future work stood out. Moving forward, inroads may further:

Key Areas of Focus for the Future

In addition to the recommendations that emerged from analysis of the evaluation data, it was important to hear the voices of the inroads members in regards to what they want to see in the future. Specifically, members were clear in pointing out the top five areas of interest for future inroads content: 

What’s to Come

We are committed to continuing to learn from you, inroads members, in order to set up structures and content that help you connect with each other and move forward your work to understand and eliminate abortion stigma and discrimination.

To build on the successes and address the recommendations included in this evaluation, we look forward to upcoming meetings where we can delve into the issues of how network members can actively participate and connect with each other.

We are grateful for the way that members have continued to engage with the network and provide helpful feedback and input. We look forward to the next gatherings and evaluations where we’ll get new insights into the network and how we can all work together.