Collaborative evaluation is an approach that offers, among others, many advantages in terms of access to information, quality of information gathered, opportunities for creative problem-solving, and receptivity to findings. In the last decade, collaborative evaluation has grown in popularity along with similar participatory, empowerment, and…

Theory-based evaluation (TBE) is an evaluation method that shows how a program will work under certain conditions and has been supported as a viable, evidence-based option in cases where randomized trials or high-quality quasi-experiments are not feasible. Despite the model's widely accepted theoretical appeal there are few examples of its…

Schools, districts, and state-level educational organizations are experiencing a great shift in the way they do the business of education. This shift focuses on accountability, specifically through the expectation of the effective utilization of evaluative-focused efforts to guide and support decisions about educational program implementation. In…

Collaborative Evaluation systematically invites and engages stakeholders in program evaluation planning and implementation. Unlike "distanced" evaluation approaches, which reject stakeholder participation as evaluation team members, Collaborative Evaluation assumes that active, on-going engagement between evaluators and program staff,…

A framework of operating models for interdisciplinary research programs in clinical service organizations is presented, consisting of a "clinician-researcher" skill development model, a program evaluation model, a researcher-led knowledge generation model, and a knowledge conduit model. Together, these models comprise a tailored, collaborative…

Describes the Logic Model process, a tool used by program evaluators to tell the performance story of their program. The model describes the logical linkages among program resources, activities, outputs, customers reached, and short, intermediate, and longer-term outcomes. (SLD)

Makes the case that the effectiveness of the use of information systems (IS) in an organization depends on an evolving understanding of the nature of IS value and that the speed of this organization is, in large part, a function of organizational and IS leadership. Analyzes the role of leadership and its relationship to the concept of absorptive…

Empowerment evaluation is defined as a process that encourages self-determination among the recipients of a program evaluation. This article contains a theoretical framework of empowerment evaluation, a discussion of methodological issues, and suggestions for operational considerations for evaluators who wish to implement empowerment evaluation.…

Proposes a model on which activities in children's educational software could be evaluated based on Multiple Intelligences theory. Proposes that, when evaluating the types of activity in children's educational software, one should ask whether it contains at least some of the activities in the model for each learning activity. (Author/SLD)

Presents an early stage evaluation model that was used to provide a framework to assess the effectiveness of three comprehensive community initiative projects that were put in place in Nebraska in 1996. Discusses challenges of evaluating these broadbased initiatives and pitfalls in using result-based performance evaluation. (SLD)

Presents a comprehensive evaluation framework and applies it to a family empowerment program in Montana that was developed as an aspect of welfare reform. The framework encompasses seven areas from developing objectives to developing a sound conceptual framework. (SLD)

Provides the conceptual framework for the Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs) evaluation project, using the diffusion of innovations theory as the theoretical foundation to understand and assess the development of TIPs. Summarizes principles of diffusion theory, and discusses how the model was used to structure the TIPs studies. (SLD)

Illustrates the use of latent growth modeling (LGM) as an analytical tool in program evaluation using the hypothetical example of a high school drug prevention program. Demonstrates the use of LGM in assessing longitudinal impact and in incorporating predictors of status and growth into a model. Highlights advantages and limitations of LGM. (SLD)

Describes the use of the program logic model as an integrative framework in the multimethod evaluation of a middle school curriculum delivery program. Shows how the logic model was used to focus data collection, organize data, and interpret the data in an integrative framework. Focuses on the area of computer skills to illustrate the usefulness of…

Presents a framework to describe typical constraints that program evaluators face. The framework encompasses the usual evaluation costs and other factors that impede data collection or the implementation of strong evaluation designs. These are characterized as internal/substantive or external/political. (SLD)