Evaluation capacity building (ECB) continues to attract the attention and interest of scholars and practitioners. Over the years, models, frameworks, strategies, and practices related to ECB have been developed and implemented. Although ECB is highly contextual, the evolution of knowledge in this area depends on learning from past efforts in a…

Evaluations are considered of key importance for a well-functioning democracy. Against this background, it is vital to assess whether and how evaluation models approach the role of citizens. This paper is the first in presenting a review of citizen involvement in the main evaluation models which are commonly distinguished in the field. We present…

This article problematizes methodological practices, specifically the use of surveys as tools of measurement in evaluation with migrant youth. Drawing from Foucault's "Genealogy of Ethics," we investigate the knowledge created about particular minoritized groups through the author's current evaluation, the power relations involved, and…

Principles focused evaluation (PFE) can complement existing formative and outcome evaluation plans by identifying Effectiveness Principles (EPs), an operationalization of values and standards that guide practitioners during program implementation. To date, however, few examples of PFE are available in the literature. This description of the…

Evaluation policy has been identified as an important means of shaping and influencing organizational evaluation practice, yet, to date, little empirical research has been conducted to deepen our understanding of this relationship. The purpose of this study was to illuminate evaluation policy's role in leveraging organizational capacity to do and…

Evaluators are often called upon to assess the effects of programs. To assess a program effect, evaluators need a clear understanding of how a program effect is defined. Arguably, the most widely used definition of a program effect is the counterfactual one. According to the counterfactual definition, a program effect is the difference between…

Changing health-care climates mean evaluators need to provide findings within shorter time frames, but challenges remain in the creation of rapid research designs capable of delivering quality data to inform decision-making processes. We conducted a review of articles to grapple with these challenges and explore the ways in which rapid evaluations…

Inspiring the transformational changes required to address the climate crisis, as well as other global challenges, requires acting boldly and taking risks. New approaches that integrate transformational change thinking and concepts into evaluations, and that further deepen the nexus of evaluation and learning, are urgently needed. In 2017, Climate…

Since 2007, two taxonomies have been proposed to identify the components of evaluation practice that may be specified in an evaluation policy. Little is known, however, about how these taxonomies align with evaluation policies developed by philanthropic foundations. Through thematic analysis, this article first compares 12 foundation evaluation…

For over 30 years, calls have been issued for the western evaluation field to address implicit bias in its theory and practice. Although many in the field encourage evaluators to be culturally competent, ontological competence remains unaddressed. Grounded in an institutionalized distrust of non-western perspectives of reality and knowledge…

This paper develops a novel approach called Outcome Trajectory Evaluation (OTE) in response to the long-causal-chain problem confronting the evaluation of research for development (R4D) projects. OTE strives to tackle four issues resulting from the common practice of evaluating R4D projects based on theory of change developed at the start. The…

Narrative case studies have shown that, when people are involved in an evaluation of a program they are part of, it can change how they experience the program. This study used a quasi-experiment to test this proposition empirically in the context a participatory action research curriculum called Youth as Researchers. Half of all Youth as…

Schools are a critical setting for improving child nutrition and food security and preventing obesity in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture mandates that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program--Education, known as CalFresh Healthy Living (CFHL) in California, implements obesity prevention efforts that utilize…

Deforestation is an environmental stressor that dramatically threatens biodiversity while having adverse, deep-rooted, socioeconomic impacts. Interventions to address deforestation require considerable long-term investments; therefore, assessing their impact is crucial. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity encourages establishing protected…

Despite the rising popularity of big data, there is speculation that evaluators have been slow adopters of these new statistical approaches. Several possible reasons have been offered for why this is the case: ethical concerns, institutional capacity, and evaluator capacity and values. In this method note, we address one of these barriers and aim…