Despite the increase in federal tiered evidence initiatives that require the use of rigorous evaluation designs, such as randomized experiments, there has been limited guidance in the evaluation literature on practical strategies to implement such studies successfully. This paper provides lessons learned in executing experiments in applied…

This case study examined the functional role activities of developmental evaluators in a school and community partnership employing a collaborative program model to improve an urban underperforming public school. Program implementers' assessments of program developments and their experience with developmental evaluators were also examined. Data…

Evaluating initiatives implemented across multiple settings can elucidate how various contextual factors may influence both implementation and outcomes. Understanding context is especially critical when the same program has varying levels of success across settings. We present a framework for evaluating contextual factors affecting an initiative…

Knowledge brokering is a promising practice for addressing the challenge of using research evidence, including evaluation findings, in policy implementation. For public policy practitioners, it means playing the role of an intermediary who steers the flow of knowledge between producers (researchers) and users (decision makers). It requires a set…

Developmental evaluation (DE), essentially conceptualized by Patton over the past 30 years, is a promising evaluative approach intended to support social innovation and the deployment of complex interventions. Its use is often justified by the complex nature of the interventions being evaluated and the need to produce useful results in real time.…

There is a growing recognition of the value of measuring fidelity of implementation (FOI) as a necessary part of evaluating interventions. However, evaluators do not have a shared conceptual understanding of what FOI is and how to measure it. Thus, the creation of FOI measures is typically a secondary focus and based on specific contexts and…

Multilevel modeling techniques facilitated examination of relationships between fidelity indicators and outcomes associated with a summer literacy intervention. Three-level growth models were specified to capture the extent to which students experienced instruction and to demonstrate the ways in which dosage-response relationships manifest in…

Evaluators face challenges when programs consistently fail to meet expectations for performance or improvement and consequently, evaluators may recommend that closing a program is the most prudent course of action. However, the evaluation literature provides little guidance regarding when an evaluator might recommend program closure. Given…

Evaluators are often faced with many challenges in the design and implementation of a program's evaluation. Because programs are entangled in complex networks of structures and stakeholders, they can be challenging to understand, and they often pose issues of competing and conflicting goals. However, by using a systems mapping approach to…

Program implementation data obtained from the repeated observation of teachers delivering one of two early childhood literacy programs to economically disadvantaged students in a large southwestern school district were analyzed to estimate protocol adherence levels at the onset of the intervention as well as the change in adherence over the…

Interactive online diaries are a novel approach for evaluating project implementation and provide real-time communication between evaluation staff members and those implementing a program. Evaluation teams can guide the lines of inquiry and ensure that data are captured as implementation develops. When used together with conventional evaluation…