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Broadleaf

<brawd-leef> Broad structure tailored to natural patterns, often a pioneer in new or changed environments, preparing the ground for a complex environment to exist.

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Broadleaf's strengths come from experience in planning and evaluating a broad range of community-oriented projects

We've planned, facilitated, evaluated and conducted training for people and organizations ranging from interested community members to elected officials, not for profit organizations, government and corporations.

  • We are highly motivated by our work and enjoy working with clients who value what they do
  • Our innovative approach is designed to meet the needs of clients and ensure that capacity is developed within the client organization, including human resources, financial resources, and outside resources from partnerships and networks
  • We are results-driven and have a clear understanding of the challenges facing organizations working within a context of uncertainty

Founded on principles of sustainability not as a practice of asceticism, but rather as a means of improving livelihoods and supporting a rich cultural and environmental legacy, Broadleaf values innovation and local capacity.

Broadleaf provides expertise and tools to support the development of projects and initiatives that thrive.  The first commitment of Broadleaf is to ensure that activities and processes are effective, inclusive and sustainable, with well-founded plans, useful monitoring and evaluation frameworks and relationships with partners and networks that enhance project outcomes.


Principal

Sarah Farina, MA, MCIP, RPP, CE, specializes in planning, evaluation and governance.  She helps clients to create healthy, vibrant, prosperous communities by facilitating planning and budgeting, structuring stakeholder engagement, improving governance practices, designing frameworks for impact assessment and using evaluation as a learning tool.  Sarah has used creativity and open communication to help non-profit organizations, government, corporations and funders in more than 30 countries move their aspirations effectively and energetically into reality.

Sarah is a Credentialed Evaluator, Registered Professional Planner and Member of the Canadian Evaluation Society and the American Evaluation Association.  She holds a Master’s degree in Planning from UBC.  Sarah serves as Treasurer of the International Organization for Cooperation in Evaluation, Past President of the Canadian Evaluation Society, Past President of the Canadian Evaluation Society
BC and Yukon Chapter, and she Co-Chaired the 2017 Canadian Evaluation Society conference in Vancouver.  She has served as Director on the Boards of several community organizations and she was a Mentor with YWCA’s Connect to Success program.  She co-founded a community garden in her community.  Sarah was a Fellow with the Sustainable Communities Leadership Program, recipient of a Partnerships for Tomorrow grant to train non-profits in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Tajikistan in monitoring & evaluation and good governance, and she received CIDA’S Innovative Research Award for her work with UNDP on governance and development planning.
What Workshop and Webinar Participants are Saying

"[The best part was] having access to important information about the type of evaluation I do, and want to continue doing more of!"

"Sarah had such a wide range of experiences to share and was able to pull out relevant examples in response to audience questions. She also made the work seem doable for multiple contexts."


"I liked how the presenter tried to integrate discussion throughout the presentation."

 “Sarah did a WONDERFUL job at changing things on the fly and allowing lots of time for conversation and networking. She allowed us to converse about whatever came up event if it was somewhat off topic and didn’t get flustered.”

"I liked the presentation itself and that it was designed to engage people in the conversation. The presenter is clearly well-versed!"

"
Great presenter on a difficult concept and topic."

'Activities were relevant and engaging as well as having direct applicability to work.​"

“Sarah was a very effective facilitator.”

"Sarah was excellent at simplifying complex concepts and making the material accessible to everyone in the room regardless of their evaluation experience."

“[I Liked best]  the level of engagement between Sarah as facilitator and audience.]

“As always, great facilitation. I know some of the conversations are tough…” 

“Lots of opportunity to discuss our projects and practically apply the tools to our own work.”

"The workshop was great.  I really liked how the instructor explained things very simply and with humour!"

“Sarah Farina was excellent. She kept us on track in a engaging way.”

“This safe open and authentic dialogue, that creation of a place where people feel confidence in sharing truths, this is so important.”
Speaking

Upcoming: The Role of the Canadian Evaluation Society in Achieving Evaluation Use; Professional Development & Professionalization, Memberships & Community Development, and Advocacy. Evaluation Utilization; achieving our potential? Conference, Canadian Evaluation Society, e-conference, 2021.  

Patient Medical Home: Stories of Change in Action. Quality Forum 2020; Creating Connections for Health Agenda, workshop, Vancouver, 2020. 

Engaging Evaluation; A Facilitative Approach to Inquiry & Inclusion. Evaluation Toolbox 2.0; Innovation, Inspiration, Insight, CESBC Conference, presentation, Vancouver 2020.

Global Evaluation Professionalization. Paths to the Future of Evaluation: Contribution, Leadership, Renewal, American Evaluation Association Conference, panel, Minneapolis, 2019.

Measuring Collaboration. Canadian Evaluation Society of Nova Scotia, workshop, Halifax 2019.

Measuring Collaboration; Exploring Relationships, Practice and Impact. Canadian Evaluation Society of New Brunswick, workshop, Moncton 2019.

Decoding Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning to Support Organizational Effectiveness (with Dr. Marla Steinberg). Associations Decoded; Clarify, Resolve, Achieve, Canadian Society of Association Executives, presentation, Vancouver 2019.

Why Evaluation Matters. 2019 City of Richmond Diversity Symposium, panel, Richmond 2019.


​The Role of Evaluation in Multi-Actor Systems Change Initiatives. Evaluation for Transformational Change; Third International Conference on Evaluating Environment and Development, International Development Evaluation Association (IDEAS), presentation, Prague, Czech Republic 2019.

The Evaluation Challenge; Evaluation Planning Out Loud (with Dr. Marla Steinberg). Bridges, Canadian Evaluation Society conference, presentation, Halifax 2019. 

​The Evaluation Challenge; Thinking Fast and Learning Deep (with Dr. Marla Steinberg). What's in Your Evaluation Toolbox, CES BC Conference, demonstration, Vancouver 2018.

Effective Use of Evaluation for Project Managers; Measuring, Understanding and Reporting on Engagement.  Northern Regional Facility Engagement Conference, workshop, Vancouver 2018.

Evaluation Budgeting: Balance of Power.  American Evaluation Association Conference, demonstration, Cleveland 2018.

​
Budgéter l’évaluation : des outils pour les fournisseurs et acheteurs d’évaluations. Contexte et environnement de l'évaluation au Québec en 2018, colloque de la Société québécoise d'évaluation de programme, formation, Montréal 2018.

A Patient Experience Tool: Explore a Digital Platform that Collects Data for Planning Quality Improvement (with Christina Thomas and James Voth).  PMI CWCC Conference, presentation, Vancouver 2018.

Building a Culture of Transparency: Managing Evaluation to Support Resilience. European Evaluation Society Conference, presentation, Thessaloniki, Greece 2018.

Managing Evaluation of Complex Interventions: Resilience in Evaluation (with Dr. Chris Lovato). European Evaluation Society Conference, presentation, Thessaloniki, Greece 2018.

At the Intersection of Knowledge Translation, Evaluation and Implementation Science; Navigating a Role for Evaluation.  CESBC Health Evaluation Seminar, presentation, Vancouver 2018.

Informality and Access to Formal Systems; A Role for Community-Based Organizations.  Caribbean Urban Forum, presentation, Kingston, Jamaica 2018.

​Co-Creation: Transforming Evaluative Conversations. Canadian Evaluation Society, presentation, Calgary 2018.

Une analyse de données participative : l'évaluation dans un environnement complexe.  Innovations et perspectives méthodologiques, 2ème Forum International Francophone de l’Évaluation (FIFE 2), présentation, Marrakech, Maroc 2016.

Most Significant Change: Engaging Stakeholders in Evaluative Conversation. Tamarack Evaluation Community of Practice, webinar, 2016.

Supporting Arts and Culture: Asset-based fund development.  Composer Gathering, workshop, Vancouver 2016.

Costing Your Evaluation: Budgeting for Reality and Results.  Exemplary Evaluations in a Multicultural World.  American Evaluation Association conference, demonstration, Chicago 2015.

Dimensions of Collaboration: Individuals, Mechanisms, and Systems. Collaboration, Contribution and Collective Impact. CESBCY Evaluation Conference, ignite session, Vancouver 2015.

Leadership Skills Workshop: Leading With Your Strengths and Supporting a Culture of Leadership, YWCA, workshop, Vancouver 2015.


Measuring Collaboration: Relationships as Results 
Evaluation for the World We Want. Canadian Evaluation Society, presentation, Montreal 2015.

Planning Your Evaluation  Health Evaluation Conference: Evaluation as a Learning Process. Canadian Evaluation Society BC and Yukon Chapter, Ignite session, Vancouver 2014.

Data?  What Data?  Accessing and Gathering Meaningful Data   Celebrating Canadian Contributions to Evaluation. Canadian Evaluation Society, thematic breakfast, Ottawa 2014.

Through an Evaluation Lens: Linking Performance Improvement and Outcomes  International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) Vancouver Chapter, presentation, Vancouver 2014.

Community Gardens as a Hub for Innovation: Food Security and Community Networks  Inspire 2014. International Federation of Settlement Houses, workshop, Vancouver 2014.

Building the Impact Investing Industry: Evaluating a Global Initiative  Canadian Evaluation Society BC and Yukon Chapter, presentation, Vancouver 2013.


Find out more

Sample Projects

Patient Experience Data Collection and Reporting Tool Platform: For pilot across 5 Health Authorities to measure patient experience,   created Terms of Reference for Working Group, assembled and tested question bank, facilitated focus groups with patients and clinical stakeholders, co-developed data sharing agreement, developed evaluation metrics for expansion project.

Plan for Inter-Agency Health Collaboration and Health System Transformation:  Created Roadmap for Fraser Salish Health System Transformation: A Guide for Alignment and Investment in Aboriginal Health.

​Evaluation Framework for Cycle 8 grants: Created Evaluation Framework for Service Innovation Grants across BC: Promoting Mental Health and Wellness in Older Adults and their Caregivers.

Evaluation of community-based projects:
Evaluation of community-based programs to support people with mental health issues and disabilities.

Evaluation Capacity Building:
Led 1.5 year series of workshops for evaluators, physicians and program leads around BC.

Evaluation of Health Innovation Projects:
Evaluated community-based initiatives to improve access to primary care for complex care patients.

Most Significant Change evaluation of provincial health initiative:
Developed tools, led training webinars for data collection and analysis, facilitated provincial-level participatory analysis in 3 phases (with over 300 participants), conducted evaluation.

Impact Assessment Framework:
Created Impact Assessment Framework, developed metrics for grants in 5 focus areas of provincial foundation.

Provincial Train the Trainer program
:  Facilitated development of train the trainer program for physicians leading training for 2 modules of continuing medical education and quality improvement training delivered through 5 Health Authorities.

Development of digitization process:
Electronic Medical Record (EMR) template development to include clinical tools and Quality Improvement (QI) measures in EMRs, for Clinical Usability Standards Project.

Evaluation Field Work
: Lead for evaluation field work in North, Central and South America for evaluation of Rockefeller Foundation global impact investing initiative,  in association with E.T. Jackson and Associates:  "Accelerating Impact: Achievements, Challenges and What’s Next in Building the Impact Investing Industry".

Network Business Plan
: Creation of Business Plan and Budget for Artisans at Work network in BC.

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