Although staff training in public child welfare agencies is thought to be a critical component of effective practice, little is known about the delivery and effectiveness of training interventions. Few evaluations are published in the literature and it is uncertain how much evaluation activity is being conducted and utilized. This study collected…

Linkages between utilization and stakeholder participation in the evaluation process are discussed, with emphasis on the communication of results. Data from two small-scale participatory evaluations are used to support the argument that key elements of the participatory process can be linked to meaningful and multiple forms of research…

A metamodel of evaluation utilization was developed from implicit and explicit process models and ideas developed in recent research. The model depicts evaluation use as occurring in an internal environment situated in an external environment. Background variables, international or social psychological variables, and evaluation use variables are…

Evaluation of the Humanities Education, Research, and Language Development (HERALD) Project in the San Francisco Unified School District (California), which focused on teacher empowerment, shows the value of close collaboration between external evaluators and teachers as internal evaluators. Evaluator-teacher collaboration made evaluation more…

Use of decision support systems (DSS) to increase the utilization of management science models and accounting information is discussed. It is argued that application of the conceptual foundations of DSS to evaluation and other forms of applied social research is an effective means of increasing evaluation utilization by policymakers. (TJH)

The manner in which evaluation has been translated by a number of West European political cultures is explored. The importance of determining whether policy evaluation is being used as an instrument of improved integration of policies or as an agent for disintegration of policies is emphasized. (SLD)

The traditional view that an activity's comparative impact on collective welfare ought to guide resource allocation is refuted. A paradigm of a multisystem society with the non-fungibility of investment resources an essential issue in project appraisal is presented. (SLD)

Techniques developed in a federal agency to forge links between evaluators and decision makers using evaluation information are described. Focus is on engaging the decision maker in the identification of candidate programs, selection among candidates, program evaluation, reporting of evaluation results, and assessment of evaluation impact. (SLD)

Six articles on the relationship between policy theory and the practice of policy evaluation are presented. Articles address basic theoretical issues, theories in practice, the epistemological foundations of decision technology, selection of policy analysis instrumentation, utilization of public policy analysis, and justifying policy arguments.…

Evaluators must use a flexible, open-minded approach oriented toward a holistic view of the implementation and operation of the program they are analyzing. The use of more than one methodology expands the potential findings and avoids the limitations of a unidimensional approach. (SLD)

A comparative evaluation of two underground coal mines identified the reasons why one was the most productive and the other was the least productive mine operated by the company. The vested interests of contending groups provide a partial explanation. The problem-solving process evolving out of the evaluation is described. (SLD)

The seven articles of this special feature consider the role of evaluation in learning organizations. They draw on applications in business and industry, public schools, higher education, a community arts agency, and a foreign township to illustrate the importance of evaluation in the growth of learning organizations. (SLD)

Twelve articles discuss the advantages of theory-driven evaluation for: (1) identifying crucial issues; (2) integrating program implementation into evaluation; (3) diagnosing problems in program studies; (4) diagnosing problems in program structures; and (5) enhancing evaluation utilization. Topics include optimizing validity in program and…

Challenges encountered in developing and maintaining an extensive evaluation program at Ohio State University are retrospectively reconstructed. The setting, the history of program development, and the nature of the program are described as a backdrop for discussion of six issues with implications for program development. (SLD)

Four key entities participating in foreign assistance projects are (1) donors; (2) technical advisors; (3) host country counterparts; and (4) beneficiaries. Resistance to collaborative evaluation that each may exhibit is discussed, along with ways evaluators can overcome resistance and enhance evaluation outcomes, credibility, and utilization.…