Expert intuition is increasingly considered to be a valid form of knowledge, and research has proven its effectiveness in judgment and decision making in various fields. Theorists seem to recognize the contributions of intuition within evaluative practice, but it has never been well-documented. This article presents a study on expert intuition,…

Many organizations now have evaluation policies. Because formal evaluation policies intend to frame evaluation practice, it is important to understand the aims of policies and their influence on practice. Evaluation theory is also intended to guide practice; therefore, the extent to which policies are informed by theory is also important to…

In a complex, multisite initiative, a well-developed theory of change can help an organization's leadership make strategic decisions about program elements, organizational direction and priorities, as well as provide structure and accountability for evaluation. This article describes the multistep process used by the evaluation team of a large…

Research on evaluation theories, methods, and practices has increased considerably in the past decade. Even so, little is known about whether published findings from research on evaluation are read by evaluators and whether such findings influence evaluators' thinking about evaluation or their evaluation practice. To address these questions, and…

The concept of power is a complex and often intangible aspect of the evaluation process that is frequently a focal topic among the conceptual evaluation literature concerning collaborative or culturally responsive evaluation (CRE) contexts. Unfortunately, there remains a significant theory to practice gap as power is often rarely addressed or…

Despite bipartisan support in Washington, DC, which dates back to the mid-1990s, the "what works" approach has yet to gain broad support among policymakers and practitioners. One way to build such support is to increase the usefulness of program impact evaluations for these groups. We describe three ways to make impact evaluations more…

In 2012, the American Evaluation Association (AEA) added community psychology (CP) to its roster of topical interests groups (TIG). One of the highlights of the CP TIG program at the 2012 AEA Conference and the genesis of this "American Journal of Evaluation" Forum was a panel of accomplished community psychologists and evaluation…

This article illustrates the synergistic role between practice and theory in evaluation. Using reflective practice, the author reviews her own work as well as the work of other evaluators to illustrate how theory can influence practice and, in turn, how evaluation practice can inform and grow theory, especially evaluation theory. The following…

Although some argue that distinctions between "evaluation" and "development evaluation" are increasingly superfluous, it is important to recognize that some distinctions still matter. The severe vulnerabilities and power asymmetries inherent in most developing country systems and societies make the task of evaluation…

Although collaboration is recognized as an effective means to address multifaceted community issues, successful collaboration is difficult to achieve and failure is prevalent. To effectively collaborate, collaborators must recognize the strengths and weaknesses within their own efforts. Using Mattessich and colleagues' work as a springboard, a…

One of the challenges facing program evaluation education is how to bridge the need to train students in theoretical and methodological foundations, and also prepare them for the unpredictability and complex environment outside the classroom. This issue is particularly challenging in terms of understanding stakeholder values and interests. The…

Although the general conceptual basis appeared far earlier, theory-driven evaluation came to prominence only a few decades ago with the appearance of Chen's 1990 book "Theory-Driven Evaluations." Since that time, the approach has attracted many supporters as well as detractors. In this paper, 45 cases of theory-driven evaluations, published over a…

Over the past 7 years, the Oral History Project Team has conducted interviews with individuals who have made signal contributions to evaluation theory and practice, tracing their professional development and contextualizing their work within the social and political climates of the time. By capturing the professional evolution of those who have…

In this paper we describe an evaluation training program sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and led by Duquesne University and OMG Center for Collaborative Learning designed to meet the challenge of developing a cadre of diverse evaluation professionals, specifically those from traditionally underrepresented or underserved…

Program evaluation and planning is at the heart of efforts to integrate the domains of practice and research. Traditionally, research and practice have operated in independent spheres with practitioners focused on the implementation of programs that affect individual behavior and researchers focused on the development and testing of theory.…