Evaluating Empowerment Economics: A preliminary framework for assessing innovations in financial capability

The Evaluating Empowerment Economics report shows how Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders are protecting and building wealth and power at the community level.
Announcements: Publications & Briefs Feb 27, 2019

Evaluating Empowerment Economics: A preliminary framework for assessing innovations in financial capability

by Institute of Assets and Social Policy (IASP), in partnership with National CAPACD, and Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA)

February 2019

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco partnered with National CAPACD and IASP to publish the Evaluating Empowerment Economics report as a part of their new Open Source Solutions series. The report shows how Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders are protecting and building wealth and power at the community level.

Empowerment Economics is a multi-generational and culturally responsive approach to financial capability developed by and for low-income AAPIs and other communities of color. This preliminary evaluation framework makes visible the innovative approaches and potential outcomes associated with Empowerment Economics. IASP developed this framework with National CAPACD and HCA through a review of the current research on financial capability evaluation. The framework explores the program and evaluation practices of thirteen regionally diverse National CAPACD member organizations.

Read the full report here.

 

Empowerment Economics Evaluation Framework

Locus of Impact→
Focus of Impact↓		Individual LevelFamily LevelCommunity LevelSystemic Level
Financial Capability & Wealth
  • Financial behavior
  • Financial attitudes
  • Financial education
  • Financial knowledge
  • Financial self-efficacy
  • Financial well-being
  • Financial capability
  • Financial stability
  • Training & educational attainment
  • Access to education and workforce training
  • Family/household background information
  • Family/household financial status
  • Family/household financial dynamics 
  • Housing stability & costs
  • Community resource sharing and exchange
  • Community wealth
  • Community access to financial services
  • Community access to high quality education
  • Community access to high quality workforce development opportunities
  • Community access to child care, public benefits, and case management
  • Policies and practices at the local, state, and national levels which support equity, empowerment, and self- determination for communities of color
Power
  • Civic engagement & political participation
  • Critical consciousness of systems of power and privilege
  • Social justice activism
  • Self-efficacy & self-determination
  • Family participation in civic life, politics, or social activism.
  • Family self-advocacy
  • Strategic & intersectional political alliances
  • Political representation & advocacy by and for the community
New Narratives
  • Resistance to internalizing “blame the victim” narratives about poverty, racism, sexism
  • Creation/adoption of new personally empowering narratives & identities.
  • Engagement in social movement activity to create more empowering narratives about marginalized groups
  • Multigenerational exchange about and resistance to harmful subordinate group narratives
  • Creation/adoption of new empowering family stories about strengths, assets, and wealth
  • Resistance to “blame the victim” narratives about causes of inequities within community
  • Community action to create/adopt affirmative narratives about communities of color
Multi-generational Connectedness
  • Identity rooted in multigenerational family history
  • Valuing the importance of teaching & learning from other generations
  • Multigenerational interdependence and solidarity between family members
  • Multigenerational family resilience
  • Multigenerational sharing of cultural knowledge and practices
  • Solidarity between generations in a community or program setting
  • Community leadership roles and development opportunities for youth and elders
Cultural Connectedness
  • Rootedness in cultural, spiritual, and historical identities
  • Facility navigating cultural identities and assuming power in white spaces
  • Multigenerational sharing of cultural, spiritual, and historical practices & values
  • Community engagement & organizing efforts are culturally and linguistically rooted
Well-Being
  • Perceived personal safety
  • Food security
  • Physical health
  • Psychological & spiritual well-being
  • Individual & cultural resilience
  • Health beliefs & attitudes
  • Health behaviors
  • Strong social connections/networks
  • Healing from trauma
  • Safety in the home
  • Family food security
  • Family cohesion/solidarity
  • Family caregiving and receiving
  • Family influences on health
  • Family healing from trauma
  • Clean, safe, green neighborhoods
  • Community health status
  • High quality, accessible, culturally rooted community health services
  • High quality community services & amenities
  • Community social connectedness
  • Promoting processes of reconciliation and healing from community-wide historical trauma