Participatory Evaluation

A research approach in which the people affected by a program, technology, or intervention are actively involved in evaluating it, rather than being passive subjects of assessment. In accessibility research, participatory evaluation means disabled people help define evaluation criteria, participate in interpreting findings, and have agency over how results are used and shared. This approach contrasts with traditional evaluation methods where researchers alone determine what counts as success or failure, and aligns with disability justice principles of centering the expertise of people with lived experience of disability.